My Newbie's Suicide
by JacksBoonie
Summary: After his father's death, JD commits suicide. Now he is forced to live as a ghost until he finds the real reason he killed himself. But why is it that Doctor Cox can see him when no one else can? Can the older man help him before it's too late? JDCox
1. Chapter One

AN: Hey there, Kats and Kittens! How's things, eh? So, this is probably my first actual Scrubs fic. I have another, but it's only a one-shot, so I thought I'd try my hand in a longer plot line. Go me, yea? Anyway, I guess I should stop bothering you with the small talk and just get on with it, neh? Good dealio. Hope this first chapter intrigues you . . . at least a little bit. I don't know if it's any good or not, so review and tell me if I should chuck it or continue it.

Recommendations: Some quick little recommendations (as if you haven't heard of these authors already, but please take a look at their profiles if you haven't). These peeps are seriously amazing at Scrubs fics, so _absolutely_ visit their profiles and check them out! Really!

Elise Davidson  
Little Tiger Stripes  
running in circles  
saltoftheearth

Disclaimer: I do not own the television show Scrubs. I do not own the characters of the television show Scrubs . . . Could disclaimers _be_ anymore depressing? I mean, _we_ already know that we don't own the show or the characters, so now we've got to announce to the world-wide web that we do not, in fact, own anything of importance and that we have no money, so it wouldn't matter if we're sued or not . . . Okay, done rambling.

My Newbie's Suicide

_Chapter One:_

Life sucked.

Life sucked so much, in fact, that JD found himself climbing fully-clothed into a bathtub full of freezing water, the faucet still spouting cold liquid until the basin was full and the water spilled over the curved, porcelain edge and splashed almost noiselessly onto the oval-shaped shag rug. He found himself staring at the ceiling and wondering why God – if there even _was_ one – hated him so much that he would take away the only person who he had been looking forward to getting to know a little better – especially now that things had been worked out between them. And he found himself borrowing one of Turk's razor blades and hoping that his chocolate bear wouldn't be _too_ angry with him for getting it dirty.

He had come home in a very vulnerable state, hoping upon nonexistent hopes that he would have someone to talk to, only to find that Turk and Carla were still working and his brother, Dan, had vacated and drained the bathtub, empty beer cans overflowing in the trashcan. And so he lay on the couch for more than an hour, concentrating on the ugly, brown water stain on their ceiling so that his thoughts would not wander somewhere unchecked. His next conscious thought came when he began shivering as the cool water surrounding his soaked form seemed to seep past his skin and fill the void in his chest cavity as the blade made several shallow cuts on his left forearm and a deep, jagged cut on his right wrist – so deep that he cut the tendons, and his hand fell limply into the slowly-reddening bath water.

0 o 0 o 0

Doctor Cox burst into the apartment noisily, Dan following closely behind with several six-packs in his clutches. Both wore red hockey jerseys, Perry clutching a white one loosely.

"Newbie?" The man called, searching the small expanse of the kitchen and living room and receiving no response. "Carol, I _know_ you're here. Your prissy little man-bike is parked outside, and we all know you don't go anywhere without the comfort of that thing between those girly chicken legs of yours."

The sound of running water echoed from the bathroom and Dan shrugged, saying, "Maybe he needed time with Captain Bubble-Beard and his crew of rubber duckies." Perry rolled his eyes as the other man toddled into the kitchen – his legs still lacking any real muscle strength – and set his load on the counter. "JD? Little brother? We brought beer! Come on, we're gonna watch the game!" Dan made his way to the bathroom door, raising a hand to twist the knob but stopping as the carpet squished wetly beneath his shoes. His eyes widened as he realized that not only was the floor sopping . . . but it was stained a deep red color as well.

"Shit," he murmured, his head jerking up to meet Perry's gaze with wide, frightened eyes. He hurriedly tried the knob, finding the door locked, and began pounding on the thin wood. "JD! Let me in! What's going on? _Johnny_!" Perry took one look at the floor beneath the other man's feet and pushed him out of the way, pounding on the door himself.

"Jessica, you had better open this door, or I swear to God, I'm going to break it down!" No response came after the threat, and the doctor cursed under his breath, beginning to shove his weight into the barrier keeping them from the younger man. It only took three tries, Perry's shoulder barely throbbing as he stumbled into the bathroom, nearly slipping on the water that coated the tiled floor.

The sight that greeted him caused his breath to catch in his lungs, his throat constricting as a lump formed on the back of his tongue. JD lay lifelessly in a tub full of murky, red water, his head having slipped nearly all the way beneath the overflowing mess. Perry leapt forward, hooking one arm under the younger doctor's knees, the other around his shoulders, and pulling him out of the tub and into his lap.

"Little brother?!" Dan asked hysterically, falling to his knees beside the two and stringing his fingers through his hair. "Coxy, is he okay? Is he alive? Oh, God, he's dead! He's dead! What have I done? He's dead!"

"Dan!" Perry shouted, glaring at the other man in frustration. "Go find a first aid kit, and call the paramedics."

"He's dead! He's dead!" Dan continued, tears streaming down his face. Grabbing JD around the middle and holding him close to his chest, Perry freed one of his hands to roughly clamp down on the distraught man's shoulder, shaking him eagerly.

"Dan! Go call an ambulance and find a first aid kit! _Now_!"

Dan nodded, attempting to curb his emotions, muttering, "Okay. Okay. C-Call ambulance. Find first aid kit. Okay. God, Johnny, don't die. Don't die!" He scurried from the bathroom nearly on all fours, trying his best to hurry while keeping himself from falling face-first into the crimson liquid that still surrounded them.

Perry then turned to the limp young man in his arms, a look of worry taking his face. Truthfully, he had no clue how the kid was doing. He'd only wanted to get Dan out of the room so he could check his vitals without a manic older brother on his hands. Pressing trembling fingers to JD's neck, he held his breath, letting it loose in a frightened gust as he found no pulse.

He gently laid the younger man on the red-stained tiles and stared for a moment at the crimson streaks streaming across JD's pale face, lost in the fact that the kid looked younger than he was supposed to. He actually looked rather sad, and Perry wondered if he always looked like that when he was sleeping – _if_ he was sleeping. Shaking his head, he remembered that Newbie was in trouble and hurriedly pumped JD's chest five times before leaning down and covering JD's mouth with his own to release two quick breaths.

"Come on, kid, don't quit on me now," Perry mumbled, repeating these actions a few more times. Dan, suddenly, came running back into the bathroom, splashing to a halt and falling to his knees again.

"Found it," he held a white box in front of the older man. "Ambulance is on its way."

"Great," Perry growled between a set of breaths. "I want you to bandage his arm and wrist as tightly as you can."

"But-" Dan looked thoroughly confused and lost, like a puppy looking for its owner in a crowd. The older man had seen that look on JD's face all too often, and, until now, he hadn't realized he might never see it again.

"Dan, I'm kinda busy. It's real simple. Take out the gauze and wrap it around his arm and his wrist as tight as you can get it. Okay?"

"Okay, okay," Dan took a deep breath and released it slowly, setting the box down and opening it to find a white roll of gauze amidst the mess of medical supplies. Gently taking his brother's right hand in his, he turned it so the ugly scar on JD's wrist faced him. He whimpered, having to look away and squeeze his eyes shut for a moment before taking another breath and lifting the younger man's arm into his lap and tightly bandaging the freely-bleeding wound.

"Come on, Newbie, breathe for me," Perry whispered. "Come on, JD. Damn it, don't do this!" Perry sat back on his heels, running a hand through his hair and glancing towards Dan, who stared at him with wide, hopeful eyes. Giving a sigh, he leaned forward once more, beginning to apply pressure to JD's chest again.

"Come on, little brother. Don't give up on us yet," Dan sobbed, tying off the already blood-soaked bandage, laying JD's limp arm back down on the floor, and shifting to the other side of the younger man to start on the shallower cuts.

"Shit," Perry stopped pressing on JD's chest, checking his pulse and sitting back once again to lace his fingers together behind his head.

"What? Why are you stopping? Why aren't you helping him?" Dan demanded, finished with his brother's arm and attempting to make eye contact with the other man. "Why'd you stop? Coxy-"

"I still don't have a pulse, Dan," Perry replied quietly, his gaze never leaving the lifeless young man before him. "We don't know how long he was in that tub . . . He's lost too much blood." He stared in disgust at the crimson liquid that surrounded them, vaguely aware that the faucet in the bathtub was still running.

"Well, keep going until you _get_ a pulse!" Dan screeched, shaking the man's shoulders from behind. "Th-The paramedics will be here soon! They'll be able to help him! Don't give up on him yet!"

"Dan-"

"I can't be the only one left! I can't be here by myself!" The older of the Dorian boys yelled, throwing himself at JD. He fisted the red-soaked shirt and shook JD violently. "Johnny! You can't leave me here! Don't be gone! Don't . . ." He trailed off into a fit of sobs, collapsing onto the motionless form and burying his face into his younger brother's chest.

Perry glanced at his watch, noting the time and pushing it to the back of his mind to tell the paramedics when they arrived.

_Time of death – 0432_, he thought out of habit.

0 o 0 o 0

JD found his surroundings confusing. He was standing in the living room of the apartment he shared with Turk and Carla, but it was full of people in black clothing and sniffling colleagues dabbing their eyes with tissues. Hadn't he been in the bathroom not a moment ago? Hadn't he been taking a bath or something? Hadn't he . . . Oh . . . Oh no.

He frantically glanced around the room once again. He heard his name mentioned in several conversations and saw dozens of pictures of him and his friends lining almost every flat surface. Some people were crying, some were attempting a laugh at a silly story told by someone else, but most were just standing around, staring off into nowhere.

One of these people was Elliot, a drink clutched firmly in her hand that she'd probably been carrying around for a while but had yet to bring to her lips. Her eyes stared out the small window, her gaze far away as she swayed back and forth unconsciously. JD walked over to her and tried to put a hand on her shoulder, only to find that his fingers slid straight through her form. She shivered and backed away from the window to find the group that Turk and Carla were standing with, their arms around one another and tear tracks on their cheeks.

"Not much fun, is it?"

JD turned abruptly at the voice that seemed so much louder than all the others and stared dumbfounded at the familiar figure sitting on the couch beside a very mournful-looking Dan.

"Grandpa?" He asked in a whisper. "What are you . . . What do you mean?"

"Dying," his grandfather said matter-of-factly, shrugging his shoulders and standing before patting Dan on the head – to his obvious unknowing. "Not much fun."

"I . . . I don't know," JD shook his head, still stunned to see the man that had died nearly ten years ago standing here before him. "I don't really remember much."

"You will," the older man smiled sadly, walking forward and pulling him into an embrace. "By God, it's good to see you, boy."

The young doctor hesitated a moment before returning the gesture and burying his face in the other's neck. He even smelled like he remembered. This caused a smile to break out on his face.

JD sighed as they pulled apart. "Grandpa . . . What's going on? Why am I here?"

"John, you've been given an opportunity here," his grandfather explained slowly, as if to make sure the younger man retained all the information he was giving.

"I don't understand," JD shook his head, his eyebrows furrowing.

"It's called a 'window.' Not many people get them, so consider yourself lucky," the old man waved a finger in his grandson's face with a rueful smile. "You get some time to find out why you died." JD stared at the man in confusion.

"I . . . thought it was rather _obvious_ why I died," he said slowly. "I slit my wrists. Though, I think I probably drowned before I could bleed to death . . ."

"John," his grandfather gave him a patient but withering smile. "This isn't about _how_ you died. It's your chance to find out what was troubling you so much that would cause you to do such a thing." He held up a finger as the young man opened his mouth to respond, silencing him. "Yes, Johnboy, your father's death had a hand in it, but that was more of the 'final straw.' Something inside you made you want to do this. And this is your chance."

"How are we supposed to do that?" But the look on his grandfather's face told him that the _we_ was actually an _I_. "You're not going to help me on this one, are you?" The old man shook his head sadly and took JD's hands in his own.

"But you won't be alone," he said seriously. "There will be someone to help you when the time comes."

"Who?"

"You'll know when you see them . . . or when they see _you_, I should say," his grandfather chuckled, but the joke was completely lost on the younger man.

"Grandpa . . . Why isn't my dad here?" JD asked timidly, glancing once more over the crowded apartment.

"Oh, Johnboy, he'd be here if he could," his grandfather reassured him, "but he has a lot to think about _himself_."

"Is he stuck here too?" The younger man's eyes shone hopefully, but the other only sighed.

"He's not stuck anywhere," he replied quietly. "He's up there-" He pointed towards the ceiling. "-with your grandma and me. His heart attack wasn't unexpected, boyo . . . at least not for us. But you . . ."

"I made a big uh-oh, huh?" JD's form slumped, and he felt as if he was six-years-old again, having spilt his cereal bowl onto his mother's favorite sundress or tripped over one of dad's suitcases, its contents flying everywhere.

"Yea," the older man attempted a smile at the childish saying. "A _huge_ 'uh-oh.' That's why you're getting a second time around to try and fix that uh-oh before it really becomes trouble."

JD sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and saying, "So, what do I have to do?"

"Only _you_ know the answer to that, John," his grandfather smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "I have to go now. Don't worry. You'll do just fine . . . but just remember this, boyo. You're on a schedule."

"Yea," the younger man nodded. "I got it. Stroke of midnight thing, right?" The other man laughed heartily.

"You've got a little longer than that . . . But I wouldn't push my luck. Get as much information as you can as soon as possible."

"What happens if I don't find out . . ." JD trailed off at the look his grandfather gave him – an almost frightened sheen shrouded his face.

"Believe me, John, you don't want that to happen." The old man saw the unease start to slither onto his grandson's face and gave him an assuring squeeze on the shoulder. "Don't worry so much. You'll do just fine. We're so very proud of you, John. You have no idea." He pulled the younger man into a tight hug, but JD soon found himself standing alone in the center of a room of people who couldn't see him before the hug had ended.

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard for any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

I LOVE reviews, people, so bring 'em on! I'm truthfully not sure how often I'll be able to update this fic what with school, but I'll do my best. PROMISE! Hope you liked, yea? Later, Gators! Catch ya on the flip side.


	2. Chapter Two

AN: Wow! You guys are amazing. Really! Thank you oh-so much for all the reviews! I'm so excited to get this thing going now. Okay, and now some review responses ... I don't normally do these, so don't freak out or anything if I don't really "respond" to your review ... HAVE PITY! Okay, done rambling. Here they are:

_Elise Davidson_ - Wow! What a review! Thanks so much! I'm glad I've got you hooked! My plan is working ... Anyway, don't feel bad that you made Dan a jerk in your story. Considering the circumstances, I think he's allowed to be, yea? I haven't seen him portrayed that way before, and I really like it! No problem with the shout out. You totally deserve it (sorry for making you cry)! And thanks for mentioning me and my story in yours!

_snow887_ - You get what you ask for! Although, I don't know if Perry's reaction will be quite the way I originally pictured it ...

_edheadnumber99_ - I loved that episode, and I was thinking about it when I was writing this chapter, so you might see it mentioned somewhere. And I agree that there simply aren't enough supernatural Scrubs stories out there.

_Pandanista_ - Glad you liked it! Keep reading to find out how it unfolds, yea?

_the pills go in your mouth_ - OF COURSE this is going to be a JD/Cox! I absolutely LOVE JD/Cox! I can't see it any other way:)

_Lady-of-the-gray_ - You know Perry. His middle name IS sarcasm. LoL.

_saltoftheearth_ - Glad I've peaked your interest!

_Emi_ - I'm so glad you like it. I was a little nervous about posting it. I haven't read /all/ the Scrubs fics, so I didn't know if there was something out there like it yet.

_xredneckchiickx _- I haven't seen the movie "Just Like Heaven," but since you mentioned it, I might just go and try to find it. I'm excited to find ways that JD will bug Perry at work and have him screaming at thin air ... Heh heh.

_TheEmo_ - Thanks for the interest! Glad you liked it!

_eccarter_ - Awesome! I'm glad it's caught your interest! Read on, my friend! Read on!

_Little Tiger Stripes _- Gah! I've actually caught an amazing writer's interest! Oh my gosh! I can't tell you how much I love your stories. REALLY! (Same goes for Elise Davidson. You both ROCK!) I did ponder the whole coma thing, but I'm actually saving that for part two ... Dun Dun DUN! -foreshadowing- Glad you liked! And keep writing those amazing stories. Seriously!

_Vobi_ - Yay! I have intrigued someone! Awesome!

_Muttzrock_ - Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I made you cry! Don't cry! You'll make ME cry, and then we'll have to find a supply closet and bawl our eyes out together ... /Sob/

_Dea Puella_ - I don't think I've read that Harry Potter fic. But it sounds really interesting! Do you remember the link to it? Unfortunately, JD is "all dead" (the "mostly dead" thing reminds me of The Princess Bride, though. LOVE that movie! LoL!). But don't get your hopes up just yet ...

Again, you guys, thank you SO much! Your reviews were amazing, and I'll try to keep responding to them as much as possible. If I miss any, I am /so/ dreadfully sorry. PLEASE DON'T MAUL ME/hides/ Anyway, no more forestalling. On with the story!

_Chapter Two:_

Perry Cox could not shake the feeling that he should be somewhere. It was an odd tingling in the pit of his stomach that made him nauseous accompanied by a pickling sensation on his arms and the back of his neck. It had started the day of JD's funeral, after the burial. For some reason, he couldn't muster up the tears for the younger man. Maybe it had been the fact that he barely knew the kid, despite all their time together at the hospital – oh no, he had _not_ just referred to his time at the hospital as time "together" with Newbie . . . Maybe it had been the fact that they rarely ever – if at all – saw each other outside the hospital or even interacted with one another if they _did_. Maybe it was the pure and simple fact that Perry hated anyone and anything associated with that life-consuming building known as Sacred Heart – aka: hell on earth.

Whatever the reason, he was still curious about this feeling as he absently signed charts at the nurses' station. Kelso had reluctantly insisted – mostly due to Ted's badgering about legal issues – that anyone who felt they needed a few days off due to the circumstances was welcome to. Carla, Barbie, and Gandhi had immediately requested time off – they, unfortunately, had the inconvenience of trying to convince Dan that he needn't clear JD's things out of the apartment just yet. The last of the Dorians had shut himself away in his late younger brother's room for nearly a week, devastated by the fact that within the past month he had lost his entire family – his mother not included, of course, as she wasn't a Dorian anymore.

Perry had refused Kelso's offer, tempting as it was, mainly because work was the only thing keeping his mind off of this whole ordeal, and if he spent too much time thinking about it . . . well, he didn't want to think about _that_ either. Carla had begged him over the phone several times to come over and help with Dan – apparently he was _much_ more work than Newbie had ever been. And perhaps that was why he had turned her down every single time she begged him; because Dan _was_ the kid's brother – same goofy smile, same goofy attachment to women's hair products (although Dan could certainly pull it off without seeming quite as girly), same goofy way of staring off into space at the most inopportune moment. Fuck, he was going to miss that the most – those stupid daydreams that only _his_ demented mind could think up.

Perry shook his head of these thoughts, having heard Newbie's name mentioned in a nearby conversation.

"Yea," some low-life intern droned, "I heard he offed himself because he was manic depressive or something." Perry ground his teeth, trying to ignore the growing anger rising in his throat and threatening to spill past his lips.

"Nah, I heard his dad croaked or something – had a heart attack, I guess," the second intern shrugged casually, leaning against the nurses' station just behind Perry. His grip tightened on the clipboard in his hands, his knuckles whitening and the flat piece of metal groaning in protest. He would not get worked up over this. He would absolutely _not_ get worked up over this. It was just two stupid interns who had no idea what the hell they were talking about.

"I remember him," the first intern scoffed. "What a dork. He was always following that one doctor around. God, what's his name again? Jesus, he's such a _dick_." Perry, for the life of him, still couldn't turn around, namely because they were right about him being a dick but mostly because he didn't want Newbie getting to him. Not even now. He was gone. What was the point?

"Yea, I guess he was a bit of a loser," the second intern agreed. "He was always going on and on about that Doctor Cox. I swear, they must have been sleeping together or something with the way he always-"

That was the final straw. Perry could stand their verbal diarrhea no longer, and he was about to turn on his heals when a familiar, deep voice rang through the corridor.

"Hey, don't you two have anything better to do than stand around and make fun of a dead guy?"

Perry resisted the urge to turn around. The janitor? What was he doing sticking up for Newbie? Hadn't they hated each other?

"Yea? Well, what do you know?" The first intern asked hotly. "You're just some no account high school dropout who couldn't get a better job than cleaning up people's puke."

"Hey, I know for a fact that the guy you're talking about was a _great_ doctor; much better than you two morons, anyway," the janitor's tone was filled with fury, and Perry could just picture the tall man sticking his finger in the young interns' faces. "And I also know that there're lots of doctors around here that respected him, and if they hear you talking like that, you're gonna be in a world of trouble."

"Oh really?" The second intern laughed carelessly, and the other joined him. "And who, exactly, is going to make us."

Perry took that as his cue, turning full force with the most insidious glare he could muster and saying, "That'd be me, ladies." He allowed himself a small victory smirk as both men jumped slightly and turned to face him, eyes wide and cheeks reddening with embarrassment.

"D-Doctor Cox!" The second intern stammered. He was rather short – at least three or four inches shorter than Perry – and portly, sporting a buzz cut that, for some reason, made him look ridiculously chubbier.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Sir! I didn't mean to offend you," the first intern pleaded, holding his hands up as an obvious defense mechanism. Opposite his companion, he was tall and gangly – almost unhealthily so – and his hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, which stretched between his shoulder blades an ended near the middle of his back. A small hoop earring rested in his left ear, and a nose ring sent an annoying glint in the older man's direction.

_Lord, this freak is more of a girl than Newbie ever was!_ Perry found himself thinking before flicking his nose in that manner that JD had always called his _Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!_ mode and crossing his arms.

"Now, I'm going to say this once, and _only_ once, because if I _e-he-hever_ have to remind you two of this, you will be tied to the bumper of my Porsche and dragged to an oh-so certain death as I do doughnuts in the parking lot." Both interns gulped and shared a fleeting, anxious glance as they stiffened. "John Dorian was one of the _best_ doctors in this dump, and if you don't believe me, you can ask anyone here." To make a point, he turned to the nurses station, where Laverne sat, listening intently to the rant with her hand on the phone, ready to call anyone she could possibly get a hold of as soon as it was over. "Laverne, who was the most talented intern seen in the history of Sacred Heart since my own internship?"

"Doctor Dorian," Laverne answered with just the right amount of attitude as she stared down the two quivering interns.

"And who has been the most successful resident since my residency was finished?" Perry knew that this was stretching it a bit, but he also knew that the woman behind the desk had enough respect for the former young man to go along with it anyway.

"Why, that'd be Doctor Dorian," she smiled smugly at the two interns, who gulped as the older man thanked the nurse and whipped back around to pin them with bulging eyes.

"Now, who wants to tell me why we have a problem here?" Silence followed his question, and he raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Nobody? Well, allow me. While you two idiots stand here and criticize one of the best doctors this shit hole had ever had the fortune to stumble on, the man, whose name you have absolutely no right to even _think_ let alone _say_, is buried six feet under while his brother is having a nervous breakdown at just having lost his father _and_ his younger sibling – perhaps the only _real_ family he had, mind you – and his friends and colleagues are still mourning his passing. So if you have anything to say, I'd say it fast, because even as I speak, Laverne is on the phone calling everyone in the hospital about this little incident. And trust me on this one, guys, word spreads through this place like a wildfire."

As if to emphasize his point, several of JD's interns, suddenly, surrounded them, giving the two nervous men the evil eye.

Perry nodded to the crowd, saying, "Have at it, boys and girls." He turned a raised eyebrow to the two unfortunates being centered in on. "Gentlemen . . . May God have mercy on your souls."

"Amen," Laverne said from behind the desk before turning back to her phone conversation with a nurse in pediatrics.

Perry strode off then, aware of the janitor at his heals. Without turning, he said, "I want to know whenever a patient pukes or has an accident. I'm going to make those little fuckers wish they'd never even _dreamed_ of becoming doctors."

"Yes, Sir," the janitor replied without argument. When the taller man continued to follow him, Perry tossed him a questioning look. "Did you mean all that stuff?"

"What stuff?" Perry asked with exasperation, making a sharp turn down another long corridor.

"That stuff you said about Scooter," Janitor explained impatiently. "You really believe all that?"

"Don't you have some puke to go find for me or something?" The doctor inquired, leaving the other man behind as he finally stopped following him. With a huff, he entered Kelso's office, slamming the door behind him and leaning over the man's desk, palms flat on either side of the bronze nameplate. "Bobbo, can we have a chat?"

"Perry," Kelso nodded in greeting, not really paying attention to the man. "What can I do for you?"

"That time off you promised," Perry said quickly, dipping his head so that he didn't have to stare the Chief of Medicine in the eye when he actually did look up. "I'll be taking some of that." Kelso sighed, staring at his colleague with attempted disinterest and failing miserably.

"How long do you need?" The older man demanded, able to salvage some of the annoyance still left in him.

"I don't know. I wasn't aware that grieving had a time limit."

Kelso doubted very much that Perry would shed even a tear over Doctor Dorian, despite their "friendship," if it could be called as such. But he also noticed the signs of mourning, and Perry had it bad, whether he wanted to joke about it or not.

"Fine," Kelso finally said, writing something down on a memo pad. "I'll give you a week. If you need more time after that, come and see me, and we'll work something out." Perry stood stunned for a moment, unsure as to who the man in front of him was and what he had done with Robert Kelso but soon found it wise to merely nod and leave while the older man was feeling generous. "And Perry-" He turned back reluctantly. "-Try and get some rest. You look like shit."

0 o 0 o 0

Perry's fingers gripped the steering wheel of his car almost painfully, his mind racing as he made his way across town. He had started off in the direction of his apartment but somehow ended up in a different part of town altogether. He knew where his subconscious was taking him, of course, but he still tried not to think about it, even when his Porsche passed through the cemetery gates.

He drove slowly and carefully, passing a few people who stood over various headstones with tissues and flowers. There were few places in this world that made Perry absolutely uncomfortable. Besides his ex-mother-in-law's house and the bathroom on the third floor of Sacred Heart – strange noises always seemed to be coming from the stalls, and even the janitor wouldn't dare go in to clean it – the cemetery was the only other place that he couldn't stand to be in for more than a few minutes. Unfortunately, as he spotted someone near Newbie's grave, he had the distinct feeling he would be here for quite some time.

At first glance, it looked to be Dan. Had the sadistic trio finally forced him out of the apartment? Or had he come here on his own? However, another look caused Perry's blood to run cold and his heart to nearly stop beating. Dan's hair wasn't that messy, nor was it that long, and Perry had never seen him wear that type of clothing before – in fact, it looked like it was something that Newbie would . . . Oh, shit.

Perry stopped the car abruptly and closed his eyes, willing the image to go away. This wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening. Christ, not after he had to deal with Ben following him around all day after _his_ death. What was Newbie doing here anyway? Perry didn't need help moving on, not like he did with Ben, and he certainly didn't want to be stuck with the little girl for God-knew how long. He opened his eyes again, finding to his dismay that the kid was still standing over his own grave, sulking with his back to him. With a deep breath he shut the Porsche off and begrudgingly made his way over to the gravesite.

Stopping right alongside the younger man – or _ghost_, he supposed – he shoved his hands into his pockets, keeping his gaze focused on the flat headstone embedded into the ground. They had certainly gotten the headstone somewhat quicker than was per usual . . . but in a family like Newbie's, Perry wouldn't have been surprised if they just had them lying around somewhere in the attic, waiting to be used. Newbie offered him a glance but sighed and turned back to staring at his grave, oblivious to the fact that he could be seen.

"Why the long face, Patricia?" Perry managed through tightened vocal chords, his voice strained and nearly failing. For a moment there was a silence, and then JD turned back towards him with a questioning look, the older man shifting to meet his gaze warily. JD's mouth opened and closed a couple of times before he craned his neck to look behind him.

Turning back, he asked, "Are . . . Are you . . ."

"Newbie, do you see any other little girls hanging around their own graves?"

JD's thumb immediately jutted out as he gestured behind him, replying, "Melanie, three rows over. She died in a car accident. Her dad was drunk." Perry glanced cautiously over the other's shoulder, seeing nothing but a dreary stretch of headstones of various sizes and shapes.

"Right," he said slowly, raising his eyebrows and giving a rushed breath. JD turned around quickly, wondering if the girl he had talked to for the past few days was gone, but, sure enough, there she was. She sat on her headstone, waving at him with a small smile. She was six – or at least she had been when she died. It had been decades since her death; her dress and hairstyle were outdated. But she was sweet, smart, innocent even, and she had helped JD through an _extremely_ rough time.

"You don't see her?" He asked in astonishment as he turned a confused look back on the older man.

"No, JD, I don't see her," Perry said seriously, his shoulders slumping. "I'm not even sure why I'm seeing _you_. So why don't you be a good little Newbie and move on. Go into the light or something. Just don't bother _me_."

"I can't."

"Why _not_? Jenny, I don't need your help getting over your death. You see this?" Perry pointed to his blank face. "This is me already over you. You can't see that?"

"Oh, I can see it just fine, Doctor Cox," JD nodded absently, recalling the conversation with his grandfather. "But I think it's _you_ that has to help _me_."

"You're shitting me, right?" Perry muttered with an annoyed look on this face as he linked his finger behind his head. "Come on, Newbie, my life isn't meaningless enough already? You've got to intrude upon it?"

"Hey, I didn't expect it to be you," the younger man protested in his defense, and Perry stared at him a moment.

"But you _were_ expecting someone?"

JD considered the question for a moment. Of course he had been expecting someone. His grandfather had said he would get help, right? But why – oh, God, why – did it have to be Perry Cox, the least sensitive man on the planet (next to Robert Kelso, obviously)? Why couldn't he have gotten Turk? Or Carla? Elliot? _Dan_, for Christ's sake?

JD seriously hated the irony know as his ex-life.

Suddenly, a thought popped into his head, and he asked, "Why aren't you more surprised to see me if I wasn't supposed to be expecting you?" He felt a small victory as Perry seemed to be caught off guard, his arms falling to his sides as his eyes hardened in that way when he couldn't answer a question and bored holes into the very soul of the person who had asked it. In this case, it wouldn't be too hard.

"Just get in the car, Newbie," the older man growled, stomping off towards the passenger side door and opening it.

JD smiled at this, saying, "What a gentleman."

"_Can it_, Nancy. You won't be able to move solid objects . . . at least not yet, so unless you want to walk to my apartment, I suggest you shut your yap and get in the God damn car before someone comes by and thinks I'm a crazy person."

"How do you know-"

"Get. In. The. Car." The words were growled so deeply in Perry's throat that JD almost didn't understand them, but he generally got the gist in the smouldering gaze centered on him. As an afterthought, Perry added, "I'll tell you on the way. Just . . . get in the car, all right?"

JD complied without another word, and the older man shut the door with an unnecessary forceful shove, making his way around the car and sitting heavily in the driver's seat. The car peeled out of the cemetery, and Perry decided it was time to let the kid in on the secret that he'd been hiding for several years.

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard for any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

Later, Gators! Catch you on the flip side! Keep reviewing! It makes me want to update faster/hint hint/


	3. Chapter Three

AN: Wow! You guys are truly amazing. I love all the reviews I'm getting! (Hence why I'm updating faster than I thought I would be.) Haza and so forth to you all!

_eccarter_ - I /love/ Ghost Whisperer too! I haven't seen too many episodes, but it got me hooked from the first time I saw it. Weird that it somehow correlates with my story . . . LoL! Really, though, it must have been a subconscious thing, because I definitely wasn't thinking about that show when I was writing this. Strangely enough, The Dresden Files kept crossing my mind . . . but that's for part two! (Preview: Coxy has a cousin, a wizard . . . named _Harry_. Bwahaha! What do you think?)

_xredneckchiickx_ - So sorry for the confusion. Yes, Dr. Cox knows that JD is a ghost. It's definitely more obvious in this chapter. Promise!

_Emi_ - I /love/ Cox!Rant. It's so much fun to write, especially if you can get his character down pretty well. I think my version was a little iffy, but I've seen loads of other authors that get him down amazingly. And I thought it was about time that Kelso showed Perry a little bit of leniency. He deserves it, after all, right?

_Babog_ - Oi! I hate those interns . . . which my roommate found hilarious, seeing as I'm the one that wrote them that way. LoL! Well, I hate them nonetheless, and I'm so glad you're enjoying the story.

_The pills go in your mouth_ - Dr. Cox's secret is right below! Hope it's as exciting to read as it was to come up with! It's not /too/ glamorous, I don't think, but it goes well with the plot line I have figured out. Yay plot line!

_Elise Davidson_ - I love the little girl too. She was just sort of a spur-of-the-moment thing, and I just /had/ to add her in. I liked the Janitor too. I think it's about time he stood up for JD, even if it /is/ only because he's dead . . . Oh well. Yay Janitor/dies at sight of Perry's neck/ So gorgeously muscular, yea? LoL! Gotta love a guy with muscles . . . especially if he has Perry's abs. /dies again/ And Janitor is ginormous. Holy cow, I wouldn't want him towering over /me/ with a scowl like that. Eep!

_Samu_ - Yay for Cox!Rant. I agree that he and Janitor would make an excellent team. They could have the whole hospital under their control . . . scary thought, yea? LoL!

Well, that's all my email has given me so far . . . If I missed anyone, I am so terribly sorry. Don't feel offended. My email is just slow as hell. I love you all! Thanks again!_  
_

_Chapter Three:_

Perry swerved dangerously around a station wagon that was driving ten miles under the minimum speed limit, an exasperated mother at the front wheel looking through the rearview mirror and shouting at her bouncing children in the back seat. He growled and stepped on the accelerator as the light ahead changed from green to yellow, speeding through the intersection just as it switched to red. JD squirmed uncomfortably in his seat, wishing that he was able to use a seatbelt and trying to convince himself he was already dead anyway so it wouldn't matter. This, of course, was little help, and he continued to fidget helplessly.

"Mary Jane, would you kindly stop wriggling all over my seats? I just had them replaced from the last time Jack threw up everywhere." Perry grimaced at the memory. No matter how many times he had scrubbed the poor seats, the smell refused to come out.

"Perry, I'm dead. Or have we forgotten that little fact already?" JD inquired with annoyance, and a silence fell between them for a long moment. "So are you going to tell me, or do you want me to keep asking you until we get to your place and you try, but fail, to slam the door in my face?"

"What do you want to know, Newbie?" Perry took a very sharp right turn, nearly running another car off of the road.

"Why can you see me?" JD asked the most pressing of questions on his mind. "Why just you? Why not anyone else?"

"You've tried with the others?" The older man looked at him curiously.

"I didn't have to. Everyone was standing around the apartment in black, and no one even noticed me." Perry was, suddenly, very sorry that he had not gone to the apartment after the funeral. Perhaps this would have been a little easier had they met sooner. "I tried to touch Elliot's shoulder . . . My hand went right through her . . . Do you have any idea how that feels?"

"Yea, Newbie," Perry replied to the younger's surprise. "I do."

"This has happened to you?"

"I was seventeen," the man started hesitantly, hating that he had to share one of his most private past experiences with the kid. "Went out the same way you did." JD looked down at his wrist, which still sported an ugly, red mark. It looked fresh, as if at any moment it could start bleeding again. But it didn't. The little girl, Melanie, had taken a wayward piece of glass to the throat. The mark still remained on her neck, looking as if she had only just received it.

"No one really made much of a fuss, of course," Perry continued, pulling JD from his thoughts. "My father was too drunk to care, and my mother . . . Lord, she was so doped up on pills and drugs she barely remembered our names." He gave a forced chuckle at the unwanted memory. "Paige seemed to be the only one who took notice that I hadn't come out of my bedroom for hours, and by the time she found me . . ."

"You died," JD said sadly, and Perry wondered how the kid could be so affected by something that happened _years_ ago – probably while he was still in diapers – and by someone that barely cared about him when he had been alive, let alone now that he was dead.

He considered making a sarcastic remark but thought better of it, saying, "Yea, I did . . . Next thing I know, I'm watching myself being buried and there's some guy telling me I've got a second chance."

"And you got one," JD pointed out excitedly, turning in his seat to better face the man. "So that means that I might get one too."

"Newbie," Perry sighed, bringing the car to a stop just outside his apartment building. His shoulders slumped as he released the steering wheel, and his arms fell limply to his sides. "I was barely in the ground – the casket hadn't even been lowered all the way – when they gave me back my life."

The scene stood out clearly in his mind. He had burst out of his casket with a breath that had caused his lungs to burn. People had screamed, the priest had crossed himself at least a dozen times, and his sister had stared wide-eyed, the look on her face a cross between joy and absolute horror. Things had frozen, then, everyone as still as statues, and the man who had brought him back explained that things were going to be different – a _hell_ of a lot different. No one would remember his death. It would be as if it never happened. But he would have to carry this memory with him – such was his new life.

JD's spirits fell slightly. "But I still have a chance, right? I can still-"

"JD, the only reason I got my life back is because I got an easy out," the older man practically yelled the words, glaring at the other. "The 'powers that be'-" He waved his hands around in a sarcastically dramatic way "-needed a new lackey. _This_ is what I do. I live my life however the hell I want, and I help the occasional spirit move on to the 'great beyond' and all that bullshit. I'm not in the business of bringing people back."

"Oh," the younger man replied quietly, looking down at his hands and wringing them in his lap. "Well . . . How do I 'move on' then?"

Perry didn't answer, simply opened his door and gestured with his head that the other man should follow. JD sighed and did as he was told. They silently made their way up to Perry's apartment, and the younger doctor couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips as he stepped inside.

At Perry's inquiring look, he said, "Last time I was here, you shoved me out the door and said I'd probably die before you'd let me back in." The other man was not amused. "Just . . . ironic, I suppose."

"Sit down, Clarissa."

JD stared at the couch warily before carefully sitting down. "Hey," he called as Perry made his way into the kitchen, "why is it I can't touch anything, but I can stand and sit on stuff?"

"Newbie, don't ask annoying questions that I don't have the answers to," was the reply. "Didn't your mommy ever teach you that poking a grizzly with a stick isn't a wise decision?"

"No," JD called back, looking around the room with interest. "I didn't live with my mom much as a kid. I lived with my dad when he was in town, but I mostly stayed with my gram."

"No wonder you're so God damn girly," Perry entered the room, a tall glass of orange juice in his hand. JD wished more than anything that he could remember the taste of orange juice – the taste of _anything_ really. He couldn't even remember how it felt to feel hungry or thirsty. "So dear old Mom couldn't hash it? Sent you and Danny boy away?" He took a swig from the glass and stuck a hand in his pocket, not truly interested in Newbie's life but hating the thought of an awkward silence.

"No, just me," JD answered with a nonchalant shrug. "Dan could handle himself around Mom's boyfriends, but he couldn't always be there to look out for me. They were a little . . . rough." He offered a weak smile, but Perry only furrowed his eyebrows, tightening his grip on the glass. Suddenly, it all made sense. Newbie's daydreams weren't just daydreams – they were a defense mechanism, something used to escape reality. "So, where do we start?"

0 o 0 o 0

"Think _harder_, Newbie," Perry said exhaustedly, nursing the glass of scotch in his hand – he had switched from the orange juice very soon after he and JD had started trying to figure out why on earth he was still . . . _on earth_. "There has to be _something_ you left unfinished, something you didn't get to do."

"I didn't do half the things I wanted to do in my lifetime, Perry," JD replied to the older man's annoyance. He had continued calling him by his first name, bringing up the point that Perry couldn't really do anything to him to make him stop, "but that doesn't mean I regret not doing them. They were just . . . stupid little things that I thought would be fun but never really planned on doing." Perry rubbed roughly at his left temple. "And as far as unfinished business, the only thing I can think of is that hamper of dirty clothes in my room. Face it. There's _nothing_."

"Guess you're stuck here forever, then," Perry sighed, gulping the dark liquid greedily and wincing at the satisfying burn at the back of his throat.

JD shook his head. "My grandpa said I don't have a lot of time to figure this out . . . and he wouldn't tell me what would happen if I didn't." Perry's stomach twisted uncomfortably at this statement.

"Your grandfather?" He asked, sitting forward. "Oh man, Newbie, this must be _some_ secret you're hiding away."

"What do you mean?"

"The 'meet-and-greet' isn't usually done by family members when you come back," Perry explained, pouring another glass. "Not unless you've got something really juicy on your mind." He gave the other man a wry smile. "And, boy-oh-boy, I am just bursting with anticipation."

"Is that why that . . . _thing_ has been following me around?" JD asked nervously, his face clearly stating that he was afraid to even mention it.

"'Thing'?" Perry lowered his drink from his lips, staring at the younger man hard.

"That . . . thing in black," JD tried to explain, shifting uncomfortably. "The one that looks like the grim reaper – tall, robed figure, skeleton hands . . . little girl who sells cookies . . ." He still hadn't gotten his two boxes of Thin Mints . . .

Perry's drink made a _clunk_ noise as he roughly set it on the coffee table and stood, his fingers stringing together behind his head as he began to pace.

"Oh, Charlotte, you couldn't have mentioned this _earlier_?" He demanded, his face taking a look of distress.

"What?" JD asked, slowly standing and watching him anxiously. "What does it mean? Who is it?"

Perry didn't answer right away, but soon felt the silence bearing down on him as Newbie, finally, stood in his path. Though he knew he could walk right through him if he wanted to, he stopped, his lips forming a thin, grim line.

"It's a soul-snatcher," he said quietly, and JD stared at him as if he'd just told him that Sacred Heart was being converted into a circus and all the interns would now be clowns while the nurses would carry whips and try to tame the surgeons – The Todd, especially. The image was so vivid in Perry's mind that he wondered if Newbie's daydreaming was contagious.

"A what?" JD laughed slightly, falling silent when Perry remained straight-faced. "You can't be serious!"

"As a heart attack, Newbie." He instantly regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth, but JD didn't seem to notice that he had just reminded him of his father's death.

"A 'soul-snatcher'?"

"Yea . . . Incorporeal being that snatches souls. Not too difficult to understand there, Betty," Perry still couldn't help the sarcasm in his voice. With the kid, it was just second nature. "Now, what we have to figure out is why it's so hell-bent on getting its clutches on _you_. These things don't normally come after wayward souls."

"How do we get rid of it?" JD asked.

With an exasperated sigh, Perry rubbed his face and said, "We don't. They can't be destroyed, they can't be banished, and they can't be manipulated. If you have one of these things on your tail, you either move on as quickly as possible, or you . . . disappear."

"Disappear?"

"Listen, JD," the older man said in a strained voice, eyeing him with a seriousness that JD had never seen before, "there are good things out there – _really_ good things – but sometimes in order for the good things to happen, rules have to be broken. And to balance this out, there are bad things – _really_ bad things – and chances are if you have a good thing for too long, sooner or later a bad thing is going to follow." JD listened with the intensity of a child being told a scary story. In reality, it probably _was_ a scary story – the scariest of them all. And Perry didn't know how to soften the blow for the younger man. "Now, what you have is a _really_ good thing, Newbie – one of the best – but if you have it for too much longer, those bad things are going to come after you. There's no cheating the balance."

JD nodded as his gaze shifted to his shoes, an unreadable look taking his face.

"I assume not all soul-snatchers look like the grim reaper," he said quietly.

"No," Perry shook his head. "They take the form of what they think you're most afraid of." JD gave a forced chuckle, looking up with a strange smile on his lips.

"You really know a lot about this stuff, huh?"

The older doctor managed a smirk, replying, "You learn a few things when you've been in my line of work for a while."

"What's the pay like?"

"It sucks . . . but the job has its advantages."

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard for any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

I hope at least /some/ questions were answered in this chapter. If I missed anything, feel free to point, laugh, and tell me what a huge failure I am. Later, Gators! Catch ya on the flip side.


	4. Chapter Four

AN: Omg, you guys, I am _so_ very sorry for the delay. This stupid site has been telling me that there has been an error in submitting my document for a _week_. And I've been so angry with it that I haven't even started on Chapter 5 yet. Ugh. I promise that as long as this damn site stops being pissy, I'll update again within the next day or so. But let me get to the review replies real quick so you can get on with reading already. Sheesh!

_Dizzy_ - Glad you're enjoying the story so far! Hope you like this next chapter!

_Lady-of-the-gray_ - Yay! I'm so excited that you want to use my story idea! What an honor. And I know I already personally replied to your review, but just so _everyone_ knows, you may _absolutely_ use it. :) I can't wait to read what you have! Have you started it already?

_snow887_ - /is huggled and glomped/ Wow! So glad I could rock your socks! Shweet! And I'm so happy that you're enjoying the fic. I know I'm having fun writing it. :) Hope you like this chapter and the rest to come!

_Babog_ - /points to noggin/ Yup, that's where my story ideas come from. Haha! And who _isn't_ addicted to Scrubs? I talk about them like they're real people _all_ the time! LoL! So glad you're liking the story so far, and I hope every chapter is better than the last!

_Muttzrock_ - Thanks! Glad you're hooked! Hope you like this next chapter!

_Samu_ - Oh, I just _had_ to add something in there to tie Perry into the story. I mean, what's a JDA without Dr. Cox, yea? Haha! As far as the _perks_ go . . . I'm kinda wondering about those myself. /sheepish grin/ Oh well, I'm sure I'll figure that out when I get to it, yea? LoL

_xredneckchiickx_ - Thanks! I'm glad you like it so far!

_Elise Davidson_ - /huggles JD and Perry close and sighs contently/ Hey, who _doesn't_ want to give our Scrubs boys a big old hug, yea? Aww . . . Hmm, can't say I've ever heard of _Bleach_, but if it reminds you of this, I may have to look into it! By the way, I was absolutely _thrilled_ to read the ending of your trilogy (not in a happy-it's-finally-over kind of way but a omg-that-was-so-good-I'm-going-to-read-it-again-and-again-till-I-have-it-memorized kind of way). LoL! Absolutely brilliant, Chica. Some /great/ work, and totally recommendable. NOTE: WHOEVER HAS NOT READ ELISE DAVIDSON'S SCRUBS TRILOGY MUST GO AND DO SO AFTER YOU READ CHAPTER 4! DO IT! PLEASE!

_deranged black kitten of doom _- I know! How weird was that? LoL! I can't believe it! Wasn't her name Jill or something? I'm pretty sure it was Jill . . . but don't take my word for it. And, _yes_, I am psychic! Go me! LoL :)

_dirtyprettything_ - Glad you find it "interesting." Is that a good or bad thing? Haha!

_Star Future_ - I'm so glad you _did_ decide to read my fic! I can guarantee that there will some JDCox smut happening in the near future (heh heh). And I have an idea about how this story will work out, but I'm not writing anything in stone just yet . . . although there _will_ be a part two. /inquisitive look/

_psychotic KAT_ - Livejournal is absolutely amazing! And, yay, I did finally work out the kinks in this forsaken site. :) So glad you like the story so far!

Alright, that's all I have. If you reviewed and I didn't respond, I'm so sorry. It's not that I don't love you (I do! Really, I do!). It's just this dern site and it's dern updating . . . stuff. Well, no more chitchat. I'll let you read. Enjoy this much-awaited chapter, Kats and Kittens!

_Chapter Four:_

JD knew that there were one-hundred-and-seven tiles on Perry's kitchen floor. He knew Perry owned shot glasses from every state but Alaska. He knew that Perry had sixty-three DVDs, most of which were chick flicks, and almost two-hundred CDs, most of which were soundtracks of chick flicks.

JD knew these things because he had counted, and he had counted because he could not sleep – was not _able_ to sleep. Perry had gone to bed hours ago, having been exhausted with the younger man and all his questions. And so JD had sat on the couch, staring blankly at the television screen and the _one_ channel that Perry had turned it to – ESPN.

_Damn sports fanatic_, JD had thought with annoyance. After an hour of the mind-numbing actions of the players on the screen, it had become too much, and the counting had started, not stopping until a faint light began to stretch across the room from a window on the far wall.

JD stopped by the window, looking out at the street below. He had never really noticed the neighborhood around the apartment building, but it was rather . . . comforting – the kind of place you'd want to raise kids and start a family in. There was a coffee shop right across the street, which joined with the internet cafe right beside it. They had probably been separate businesses at one time but thought it more profitable to pool their efforts. In any case, they seemed to be doing well for themselves. Not many places had over a dozen customers this early in the morning.

The laughter of children echoed from the sidewalk, and the young man watched as they skated on roller blades into the street, carting hockey sticks and a small, orange ball. JD smiled at the thought of being young again, waiting impatiently for the sun to come up so he could go outside and play before being rushed off to the confines of school. Things had changed very little in the post-generation.

Something else across the street caught his eye, and he shuddered when he realized it was the black-cloaked figure that had been following him ever since the day of his funeral. It had followed him from the apartment to the cemetery, where he had spent the last few days before Perry had found him. Mostly, it had kept its distance, remaining outside the cemetery gates – although there were a few instances in which JD thought it might actually come for him. That is, until the little girl from a few rows down, Melanie, had told him that it couldn't cross the threshold . . . at least not while JD still had time on earth.

He hadn't been surprised when it followed him to Perry's apartment but wondered whether it was going to come in or not. Thankfully, it seemed to be afraid to come near him when the older man was around. He had seen it falter in its advances when Perry had been with him. Was it really afraid of his former mentor? How much longer did he have until it came for him no matter what? Would Perry be able to stop it? Would he _want _to?

He sighed, bringing a hand up and slowly running his fingers over the window. He could touch it, yes, but he couldn't feel it, and this caused him to frown and his shoulders to slump.

This is how Perry found JD as he tiredly leaned in the doorway of his bedroom. The kid looked like he had been told his pony was going to be sent to the glue factory. He looked . . . devastated. Perry didn't know why this bothered him so much, but for some reason his chest felt heavy with guilt. Sure, he had liked seeing Newbie's face fall after one of his rants or when he wanted to _intentionally_ crush his spirit, but this didn't feel . . . _right_. Newbie didn't deserve this kind of hurt . . . Dear God, was he actually developing a . . . _soft spot_ for the kid?

"You said I couldn't touch things," JD's quiet statement pulled the older man from his thoughts, and he crossed his arms.

"No, I said you can't move things. I never said you couldn't touch them," Perry corrected him.

"But I couldn't touch Elliot," JD pointed out, his hand dropping from the window. "My fingers went right through her."

"The dead can't interact with the living, Newbie. Pure and simple. Even _you_ should know that."

A silence fell between them before the younger man said, "Yet." At Perry's confused look, he explained. "You said I wouldn't be able to move objects 'yet.' How do I do that?"

Perry sighed. "Melinda, I don't know if you remember or not, but you're sort of on a time limit, here. I don't think I'd waste it trying to-"

"It's _my_ God damn time, Perry," JD snapped, wanting to pound the wall with his fists but knowing it would do nothing to curb his anger, "and I'll 'waste it' any fucking way I please." The older man stared at him blankly, clearly unfazed by the outburst. He had dealt with enough of them from both the living _and_ the dead.

"Fine," he agreed to JD's surprise, "but you'll do _exactly_ what I say, no backing out. We do this all the way or not at all." JD nodded vigorously. "And we don't start _anything_ until I've had some breakfast."

0 o 0 o 0

"All right, Susan, let's get started," Perry rubbed his hands together, grabbing a glass from his liquor shelf and setting it on the counter that separated the kitchen from the den. JD stood within the kitchen, the older man standing opposite him and placing his palms flat on the cold marble. "Now, you have, no doubt, seen the movie _Ghost_ -" Seen it? _Unchained Melody_ was JD's theme song! "- so I'm going to take reference from that. None of that 'to-bend-the-spoon-you-must-realize-there-is-no-spoon' shit. Just concentrate on the glass. Clear your mind. I know how hard that's going to be, seeing as you can't stop thinking about those pink heels you saw when you went window shopping with the gals, but, Sweetie, you've got to stop fantasizing about how well they match your prom dress and center in on the important stuff."

JD almost glared at the man, but a sudden thought ran through his head before he could, and he smirked. "Did you just call me 'Sweetie'?"

Perry whistled, pointing to the glass sitting in front of them and replying, "You. Counter. _Go_."

JD leaned down, his chin resting on the back of his left hand while his right reached towards the glass, two fingers extended. For a pain-staking hour and a half – most of which Perry spent drinking and watching sports – the young man glared and poked at the glass in front of him, able to touch it but not apply the force needed to move it. This was _nothing_ like _Ghost_. For one thing, Patrick Swayze had picked up the whole _moving objects_ thing fairly quickly. _This_ was taking forever. Secondly, Swayze's fingers had been able to go _through_ the objects. JD wasn't sure how to do that yet – if he could at all. Finally, he sighed and looked to the older man in the den.

"This isn't working," he said with annoyance.

"Keep at it, Newbie. It's going to take time," Perry replied, knocking back the remains of his glass.

"You know, you really suck at this whole 'teaching me to be a ghost' thing."

"Hey, you said it yourself – this is how you want to waste your fucking time."

"But it isn't _working_," JD repeated with exasperation, straightening and running his fingers through his hair.

"Practice makes perfect," the other man sing-songed.

"This is _pointless_!" JD yelled, and, suddenly, the glass shot across the room, shattering against the far wall. Perry stood and looked at the broken remains before turning to the kid.

"Hey, that got some fairly decent distance," he said, but his smirk disappeared when he saw the look on JD's face. "What's wrong?"

"I . . . I didn't touch it," JD whispered, still staring at the wall, where the glass had impacted. "I didn't lay a _finger_ on it!"

Perry strode towards him, seating himself roughly on a barstool in front of the counter and staring at him hard.

"Newbie, that's _impossible_."

"I'm _telling_ you, I _didn't touch it_!" JD nearly shrieked, backing up against the stove as the older man stood again, making his way around the counter. Perry wished he could shake the other, resisting the impulse to reach out.

"And _I'm_ telling _you_ it's impossible because-"

A knock at the door silenced both of them, and they exchanged a look before Perry went to answer it.

"Hey, Per," Jordan smiled with a sick sweetness, and the man's shoulders slumped. "Am I interrupting something? Or are you yelling at your sports buddies through the TV again? I keep telling you, it doesn't matter how loud you are, they're just _never_ going to hear you."

"Actually-" Perry started, but she interrupted him.

"Yea, don't care. I need to dump Jack here for a few hours while I get a facial. Bob the homeless guy isn't at his street corner this morning." She handed Jack over to Perry along with a diaper bag full of toys.

"It takes a few hours to get a facial?" Perry asked with a withering look, balancing Jack and the bag in his arms.

"It does when I get it from Fredrico." She gave a perky smile before turning and walking off down the hall. Perry sighed, looking to the smiling child in his arms with contempt.

"Your mother _is_ the devil. You know that, right?" Jack nodded with a giggle and the older man gave him a kiss on the temple. "Good boy."

He set the bag down by the door after kicking it shut and made his way back to the kitchen, where JD still stood looking extremely stunned.

"DJ!" Jack squealed, reaching for the young man and pulling him from his trance.

"He can . . . You know what? Forget it. I don't want to know. It's probably some weird explanation about how kids are more sensitive to the 'spiritual world,' and, truthfully, I don't think I can handle that kind of bullshit right now." He leaned his elbows on the counter and put his face in his hands.

"Well, Jessica, as much as I enjoyed that little display of _girl power_, I can safely say that I, in fact, have absolutely _no clue_ why my son can see you," Perry replied, giving Jack a wary look. The little boy merely giggled, clapping his hands before grabbing a rather large chunk of his father's hair and tugging fiercely. The man hissed, carefully attempting to extract his curls from the tiny fist.

"Eggs," Jack demanded, slapping Perry's arm a few times for emphasis. "Eggs!"

"What, Satan doesn't feed you?" Perry asked in exasperation. As if in answer, Jack's stomach growled, and they both looked at it, Jack exploding into laughter and patting his tummy.

"Eggs!" He giggled. Perry rolled his eyes, making his way to the refrigerator to make his son some breakfast.

0 o 0 o 0

"We never finished talking," JD said quietly, watching Jack grab a fist full of scrambled eggs and stuff them in his mouth.

"Salt," Jack demanded, pointing to the salt shaker in the center of the table.

"No," Perry replied firmly. "Newbie, can we save this till later? I'm kind of busy." The boy stood carefully on his chair and leaned over his plate towards the object he wanted, but the older man quickly thwarted his attempt, snagging him around the middle and sitting him back down.

"No," he said again more sternly, to which Jack gave a pouting look and tossed a handful of eggs into his father's face.

"Jack!" JD scolded. "Don't throw-" A wayward juice cup was hurled towards JD's head, and he barely had time to react as the cup sailed to the right of his head, landing on the floor behind him.

"Okay, Jack," the man said, shifting his son to one hip and grabbing the plate to take to the sink. "No more eggs. I'm fairly certain my apartment looks just fine without your refined decorating skills."

"Perry . . ."

"Not now, Newbie." Perry took the wet rag dangling over the sink faucet and ran it over Jack's hands and face.

"_Yes_, now, Perry," the young man said angrily. "You can't tell me something's impossible when I just saw myself do it!" The older man sighed, not turning from his son's intrigued gaze. "You were going to say something, right? You said, '_It's impossible because_' . . . Why is it impossible?"

"JD-" Perry replied, his tone echoing his exhaustion, but the younger man would not have any more stalling tactics.

"_Why_?" He nearly screamed, and several cupboards, suddenly, slammed open, their contents flying out and onto the floor. Perry clutched Jack close, backing away from the mess with wide eyes and a slack jaw. His gaze slowly traveled over the kitchen floor, taking in the spilled cereal, the shattered cups and plates, the silverware strewn about the tiles. Pots and pans still rolled across the ground, having made dents in the cupboards paralleling their own, and several different spices lay scattered over the mess and hanging in the air – they had exploded from their containers.

Finally, Perry was able to look to JD standing across the kitchen. The young man sported a look of shock akin to his own, and before Perry could say anything, JD was heading towards the door.

"Newbie," he called, hurrying after him as best he could with Jack in his arms. He stepped over the disaster carefully, coughing and blinking rapidly as the spices in the air entered his nose, mouth, and eyes. "JD!" But the young man did not stop, hurrying towards the door, which nearly flew off of its hinges before he hurtled into the hall. Perry quickly followed, finding the corridor absolutely empty.

"Where DJ?" A small, timid voice asked. With a sigh, Perry hugged Jack to him.

"He just needs to be alone for a while," he replied soothingly, glancing around the hall once more before heading back into the apartment.

0 o 0 o 0

The second JD stepped out of Perry's apartment building, he felt an unbelievably cold chill seep into his chest, and he shivered. His initial thought was that he should have grabbed a jacket before he left, but when realization hit, he could do no more than give a weak laugh. How was it that a ghost could be cold, anyway?

His gaze wandered warily to the sidewalk across the street, where he found his black-cloaked admirer waiting for him. It looked different than before, not like his ideal grim reaper at all. In fact, it didn't really look like anything but a billowing shroud of dark smoke hanging in the air. And even though it didn't appear to have any eyes, JD could tell it was watching him.

He shivered again and started down the sidewalk, glad that Perry had not followed him. He vaguely wondered if the older man would be able to see his "shadow." After all, he hadn't been able to see Melanie. And that lead to the question of whether or not he saw ghosts at work. What a nightmare. How could he stand it? He pushed the question to the back of his mind – he would ask Perry later when he wasn't so God damn mad at him . . . or himself.

He found his way back to the cemetery rather quickly, making his way to Melanie's grave, where she sat in the grass. She held a stuffed animal out in front of her – a rabbit, JD guessed – making it dance while she hummed an old tune softly. With a relieved sigh, he sat down next to her, chancing a glance back towards the gate, where the dark being hovered just outside the barrier.

"Back so soon, JD?" Melanie asked quietly, her eyes never leaving her rabbit.

"Yea," JD nodded, twisting his fingers in his lap and staring at his shoes. They were his old, comfortable sneakers, the ones that the janitor had sprayed red – only they weren't red anymore. He wore the clothes he had died in, a pair of fading jeans and a hooded sweatshirt with some foreign logo that Turk had said looked cool. Looking back on the day he had slit his wrists, he wished he hadn't worn it. Turk would forever be plagued with the thought that his best friend killed himself in the sweatshirt he had gotten him for Christmas.

"I just . . . needed to get away for a bit," he continued, turning his palms up so that the scars on his wrist showed plainly in the mid-morning light.

"Did it help that Perry could see you?"

JD looked up slowly, his brows furrowing as he asked, "How do you know about Doctor Cox?"

The girl giggled. "Everyone knows Perry. He's the _Apparitionist_ – the one who helps ghosts into the afterlife."

"But . . . he didn't see _you_," JD pointed out. He sat forward slightly as she offered her rabbit to him but found he was unable to grip it, and it fell to the ground.

"Perry only sees who he is supposed to see," Melanie explained gently, reaching for the rabbit and offering it to the man again with an encouraging smile.

"So, he doesn't see ghosts at the hospital," JD stated, reaching out for the stuffed animal again, only to have it slip between his fingers for the second time. He sighed with frustration as the girl picked it up and held it out once more.

"Not always," she replied releasing the toy and watching it fall to the ground as JD made a grab for it. His hand dropped, and he glared at the rabbit, his eyes narrowing.

"What do you mean?" He inquired, staring straight into marble eyes of the subject of his annoyance.

"Most terminal patients that go to the hospital _know_ that they're going die. They don't have any unfinished business, so they don't need to stick around." She giggled at the face that JD was making as he concentrated on the rabbit. "The ones that _do_ have to stay, don't for very long and usually don't need Perry's help. Mostly, their unfinished business is just saying goodbye to their families."

JD looked up at this. "So, that could be _my_ unfinished business, right? I just have to say goodbye to Dan . . . and maybe Mom." He winced as he listed his mother as part of the family. They hadn't gotten along very well after he left. Not that he minded much . . .

Melanie sighed sadly, saying, "I'm not so sure it's that simple, JD. You took your own life. You must have something big on your mind; otherwise Perry wouldn't have to help you."

"There's nothing _there_," the young man replied bitterly, grinding his teeth. Suddenly, the rabbit lifted from the ground, floating in front of them for a moment before dropping and bouncing on the grass. Melanie's eyes widened, and she slowly looked from the stuffed animal to JD's confused gaze.

"What?" The young man inquired innocently. Suddenly, her lips spread in a wide smile, and she pounced on him, knocking him backwards.

"_Guardian_!" She shrieked with excitement. "You're the _Guardian_!"

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard for any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

Well, Kats and Kittens, that's all for now. Sorry to leave it like that, but, like I said, if this damn site wasn't acting up so friggin' much, I'd have Chapter 5 done and posted already. /Sigh/ But I hope you liked it nonetheless. :) Later, Gators! Catch you on the flip side!


	5. Chapter Five

AN: Hey there, Kats and Kittens! Wow, you guys are so great with the reviews. I can't even believe it. Unfortunately, because it's past four in the morning, I'm a bit too tired to respond to reviews, but I promise to start up again in the next chapter. PROMISE! Really, I do!

Warning: Okay, only one major warning for this chapter. There will be mention of underage sex/rape. But nothing graphic, I promise. I just couldn't bring myself to get _too_ into the subject.

I hope you enjoy this chapter! I know it's been a while coming. Sorry about that . . . Read on, Readers! Read on!

_Chapter Five:_

JD stared at Perry's apartment door for some time, his thoughts wandering over the conversation in the cemetery a few hours before.

_// "_Guardian_?" JD asked the young girl currently seated on his chest and pinning his shoulders to the soft grass under his back. "What's-"_

_"The _Guardian_!" Melanie shrieked incredulously, as if the answer was painfully obvious. She bounced slightly, impatient with his daftness. "The protector of the _Apparitionist_!"_

_"Protector?" The young man inquired weakly. "Why would Perry need _me_ to protect _him_?"_

_"Oh, JD," the girl said sadly, her eyes softening. "You have no idea how much danger he's in without you . . . without the _Guardian_." JD carefully sat up, shifting her so that she sat in his lap and peering into her gaze curiously._

_"But what has he done until now? How has he stayed out of danger?"_

_"You aren't the first," Melanie explained, the excitement returning to her voice. "He's had two others before you."_

_"_Two_?" JD asked warily, and Melanie giggled. _

_"You say that like it's a bad thing," she pointed out. "He's _only_ had two. Most _Apparitionists_ go through many _Guardians_ in their lifetime. Perry is different -- he protects his _Guardian_, just as they protect him."_

_JD nodded slowly, saying, "Who were his _Guardians _before me?"_

_"The first was his cousin, Harry."_

_"As in Potter?"_

_Melanie rolled her eyes, standing and tossing her rabbit in the air. Just as she was about to catch it, it stopped, floating above her head and just out of reach._

_"You're getting good at that," she grinned, giving JD a rueful look as the stuffed animal fell onto her head. _

_"So what happened to this cousin?" The young man asked, carefully grabbing at a blade of grass and smiling with satisfaction as he was able to tear it from the ground and hold it up._

_"He . . . found a different calling," Melanie replied, sighing with exasperation at JD's poignant look. "_No_, it is _not_ Harry Potter."_

_"Oh yea?" He said smugly. "Then what was this 'calling' that he found?"_

_Melanie hesitated before donning a defeated look and mumbling, "Wizardry."_

_"Ha!" JD flung his arms above his head triumphantly, doing a small victory dance. "Told you so."_

_"JD," she sighed warningly, crossing her arms and glaring at him. The young man lowered his arms, giving her a sheepish grin before shifting his gaze to his lap. _

_"And the second person?" He asked, thinking he already knew the answer. _

_"That'd be me."_

_The soft voice startled JD, and he whipped his head around to find a figure towering over them. He raised a hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun, but the figure leaned down, and his jaw fell slack._

_"Ben?" JD whispered after a silent moment. _

_"Hey, Buddy," Ben smiled gently. "How're things?"_

_"Well," JD replied dazedly, "besides the whole 'dying' thing, I'm pretty good." Ben nodded with a goofy grin, patting him on the shoulder before standing again. JD followed. "Ben, what . . . what are you doing here?"_

_"You don't have very much time left, JD," the older man said slowly, wincing and turning to look towards the cemetery gates at the shadow that stood beyond them. "If you don't figure this out by tonight, there's going to be a lot of trouble."_

_"Ben . . . what the hell is going on? _You_ were Perry's _Guardian_?" JD questioned with raised eyebrows._

_"Yea," the man shrugged._

_"But I was here _long_ before you . . ."_

_"Kicked it?" Ben suggested. "JD, they were testing you, feeling you out. They wanted to know how you and Perry reacted with one another."_

_"And they _still_ made me his _Guardian_?" JD asked incredulously. "Were they on a lunch break when they were supposed to be watching us? The man _hates_ me, Ben. He can't stand me."_

_"JD, do you remember in the third grade when you picked on Jenny Pemelton at recess because you couldn't just tell her you liked her?"_

_The younger man was taken aback. "How do you know about that?"_

_"Trust me," Ben said with mock seriousness. "That's not _all_ I know." JD gave him a wary look. "Perry has never really grown out of that phase . . . He's picking on you because he likes you."_

_"He picks on _everyone_," JD said in exasperation, giving the man a frustrated look. _

_"No," Ben held up a finger, "he _aggravates_ everyone. He only picks on you." The man's face darkened somewhat as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet, shooting the shadow another cagey look. "Listen, Buddy, I've got to go . . . Just remember what I said about tonight. You _have_ to figure this out, JD . . . We don't want to see you disappear."//_

JD's thoughts were interrupted as the door in front of him, suddenly, opened, Perry standing in the frame and glaring at him.

"Newbie," he ground out, resisting the urge to reach out and attempt to grab at him. "What the hell were you thinking, going out when you've got a soul-snatcher trailing you?" JD stared at him with a blank expression, swallowing before responding with a question of his own.

"Did I ever tell you how sorry I was about Ben?" He stood perfectly still as the older man's expression changed from angry annoyance to dull thoughtfulness.

"Yea," Perry replied quietly, nodding slightly. "Yea, you did. Why do you ask, Nancy?"

"We had a little chat at the cemetery," JD shrugged. "He, uh . . . He told me some things . . . about being a _Guardian_."

Perry nodded, looking hard at a point over JD's shoulder and saying, "So it's true, then. You're my _Guardian_."

"_Was_ your _Guardian_," JD smiled sheepishly. "I guess I sort of messed that up when I . . ."

The older man gave him a knowing look, stepping aside to allow him entrance. JD made his way into the living room, noticing that Jack's things were gone and shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He stood still for a moment, closing his eyes as a strange bout of dizziness overcame him.

"You all right there, Sharon?" Perry inquired, unable to keep the concerned tone from his voice, and JD opened his eyes slowly to find the other man standing in front of him.

"I don't have much time left," the younger man said quietly, his eyes glancing fleetingly at the clock over Perry's head. "A few hours . . . if that."

"What?" The single-syllable word held more emotion than the older man had ever conveyed in his entire lifetime, yet was whispered to the point of nonexistence.

"There will be someone else, Perry," JD forced a smile, his bottom lip quivering. "You'll have another _Guardian_ soon, and then you can forget about me."

"JD-"

"Can I lay down for a bit?" The young man asked softly, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. "I'm not feeling too well."

"Sure," Perry replied after a moment, his form visibly slumping. JD turned and started towards the couch. "No, not there."

The younger man gave him an exasperated look, saying, "What, you want me to lay on the _floor_?"

"No," Perry shook his head with a defeated look. "I just meant . . . You might be more comfortable on a bed."

"A bed?" JD repeated cautiously.

"Yea."

"_Your_ bed?"

". . . Yea."

JD gave the man a wary look, wondering if it could possibly be a trick of some sort. But why would Perry trick him when he knew he only had a few hours left to either find out what he _really _died for or to be taken by that . . . _thing_. JD shuddered at the thought, wrapping his arms around his abdomen and wincing as a sharp pain began to build within him.

"Come on," Perry coaxed, cocking his head in the direction of his bedroom and taking a few steps towards it. JD gave a jerky nod and followed the man slowly, the pain growing with every step he took.

Before he knew it, he was sitting on Perry's bed and the pain was slowly subsiding. As he lay back, the pain disappeared entirely, and he sighed with exhausted relief, closing his eyes. Perry stood by the door, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed and his gaze trained solely on the younger man.

"Will you lay with me?" The question was timid, and JD's voice trembled as he asked it, his eyebrows raising slightly -- hopefully -- but his eyes remaining closed. Without a word, the older man pushed himself from the wall and made his way around the bed, carefully laying himself down next to the other man. JD opened his eyes, turning his head and staring languidly into Perry's eyes. He shifted to lay on his side, barely a foot of space between their bodies.

"Tell me about your mother's boyfriends," Perry said quietly, meeting the other's gaze full-on.

JD's eyebrows raised again, this time in surprise, but he began to talk, thinking this a rare opportunity, and probably the last he would ever have, "My mother had a knack for bringing home strangers from bars. She wasn't the best judge of character, however, and usually ended up with the most abusive son of a bitch in the damn place." JD took a short moment to collect his thoughts, remembering all the men she had let wander around the house unchecked. She was always too drunk to remember their names, their faces, but JD could picture them clearly -- every last one.

"It was like she had this subconscious sensor that picked up on them, called them to her or something," he continued, looking down at the front pocket of his hoodie and picking at a loose thread. "I mean, don't get me wrong, sometimes she brought home a genuinely nice guy . . . but I could never let myself get too attached. She'd keep them for the night and kick them out the next morning. I think that's how I got through most of the abuse -- knowing that they'd be gone in the morning." Perry's face remained stoic, but as JD glanced up fleetingly, he could see that the man's eyes were blazing.

"What kind of abuse?" Perry asked the question that JD had been dreading from the start. He winced, and, realizing that he had probably just given the man his answer, cautiously look back up into Perry's hardening eyes.

"It started as physical abuse," he began softly, unable to look away from the older man even though every impulse in his body screamed for him to do just that. "A slap to the face or a shove to the floor. Nothing that wouldn't be expected from a drunkard . . ."

"But?" Perry inquired, knowing that there was more to tell and that it wasn't going to be pretty.

"But then she started bringing home more than one guy at a time." JD's voice cracked, and he was sure that if he could throw up, his stomach would be churning nauseatingly. "Four or five most of the time. They'd all disappear into my mom's room for a while, come out and veg, then go back in. Most of the time they'd watch television with me, ask me where we kept the beer and the food. It never bothered them that they were fucking some woman while her kid was in the house watching cartoons or trying to sleep."

In the pause, Perry ventured to ask, "What about Dan?"

JD gave a soft bark of hysterical laughter before replying, "He was a jock. He always had some party to go to or a date with yet-another cheerleader . . . He knew Mom brought guys home, but he never once thought they did anything to _me_." The young man turned onto his back with a sigh and stared hard at the ceiling. "It wasn't even until I was thirteen that he found out what had been going on." JD's jaw clenched, and he swallowed audibly.

"What happened?" Perry moved so that he was propped up on one elbow, his head resting in his hand as he looked down on the kid.

"Dan found me and this guy in the living room. He was a regular, although I'm sure my mom hadn't noticed. She'd been bringing him home for a few months -- just him at first. He'd slip out during the night and find me . . . even if I hid. Actually, I think he preferred it when he had to look for me. Got him off, I guess." JD closed his eyes and his face took a disgusted look. "He'd want a hand job or a blow job -- something quick. Mom would always come looking for him if he was gone for too long." The older man shifted uncomfortably, and JD kept his eyes closed for fear of the look of repulsion that Perry _must_ have been sporting. "And when she started bringing back a bunch of guys at once, he wouldn't bother with her at all . . . I suppose when you're drunk and can't remember if it was five or six men you let into the house, you just don't have enough brain cells to care about your son in the other room being raped by a grown man." He spat the words bitterly, wanting nothing more than to cry and knowing that he couldn't. "It was one night when Dan's girlfriend had gotten sick and their date was cut short when he came home early and found us . . .

_// Sticky, wet lips trailed down JD's neck as a warm, heavy weight settled over his body, pinning him to the sofa. He clenched his jaw and forced his mind to wander as he felt the bulge in the other man's pants. He had told JD to call him Lou, but the teen had never said a word to the man -- not _one_ since they had first met a few months ago. Over the past two weeks, this _Lou_ had been introducing him to the horrors of underage sex -- the man was thirty-seven, almost three times JD's age. The first few times had hurt. _Bad_. He had feigned a bruised tail bone at school and around Dan to keep it hidden. Lou promised it would get better. The agonizing pain did, in fact, eventually dwindle to mild discomfort, but it in no way _ever_ got any better. _

_"What the fuck?"_

_The harsh words pulled JD from his thoughts, and the man on top of him looked up abruptly to find Dan standing across the room with an angry, horrified look on his face. In four long strides, JD's older brother was towering over them, grabbing the man by his shirt and throwing him to the ground. Lou stumbled to his feet only to receive a right hook to the jaw, causing him to tumble to the carpet once again. _

_A few swift kicks and some good shoves later, Dan was throwing the man out the front door and yelling, "If I ever see your fucking face here again, your _dead_! You hear me? _Dead_!" The slam that followed made JD wince, the young man still laying on the couch in a dazed stupor. His gaze still remained on the ceiling, even when his brother carefully sat beside him and leaned into his line of vision._

_"J-Johnny?" He stammered softly, his face no longer twisted in anger but looking frightened and concerned. "Little brother? You okay?" JD, suddenly, lurched forward, embracing Dan fiercely. His sobs wracked his body violently, and Dan's arms immediately encircled him, clutching him as close as possible. _

_"Jesus, Johnny," he murmured, attempting to kwwp his own tears at bay. "Who _was_ that guy? What's going on? Why was he . . ." Dan gently pried the young man from him and looked him straight in the eye. "Johnny, why weren't you fighting back? Why were you letting him do that to you?"_

_"H-He . . . He said he'd . . . tell M-Mom," JD hiccoughed through shuddering sobs. Dan stroked his back and ran his fingers through the younger teen's unkempt hair. He would really have to teach his kid brother how to control that mess. "H-He'd tell Mom I was . . . I was . . . a faggot, and sh-she'd kick me out . . . and I'd never s-see you ag-gain!"_

_Dan's jaw clenched as realization hit, and he asked, "How long has this been going on?" JD's sobs only worsened, and Dan held him close again, rocking him back and forth while making soothing noises and placing kisses in his hair.//_

"Dan sent me to live with Dad," JD explained, finally able to open his eyes but still not daring to look at Perry's expression. "He said Mom was having 'financial problems' and couldn't support two kids just then . . . We never told him what _really _happened, but I always got the impression he knew it wasn't about the money." He gave a half-hearted smirk. "Dan stayed with Mom. We both knew he could handle himself, and we were both still worried about her . . . regardless." JD added the last word as an afterthought. "But he visited as often as he could. He stopped going to parties all the time, quit drinking . . . _excessive _drinking." A soft chuckle escaped his lips, one that wasn't forced or strained, and Perry was glad to hear it. "I was happy. I didn't mind when Dad had to leave on business. He was only ever gone for a week at the most, and Dan would usually keep me company at the apartment. I didn't have to switch schools, and I already knew how to take care of myself, having lived with a mother who only ever showed her face when she needed Tylenol for a hangover . . ."

"Must have been hard," Perry said into the following silence, his own past coming to mind. He reached out towards JD, his fingers stopping mere centimeters from the younger man's form as they ghosted along his chest and abdomen. He sighed, pretending for just a moment that JD was still alive, tha this body wasn't buried only a few blocks form his apartment, that he was lying in bed next to him because he _wanted_ to, not because he _had_ to. And in that moment, JD's hand hesitantly made its way towards Perry's face, stopping near the older man's cheek.

"God," JD breathed, his voice raspy and full of emotion. "One night . . . If they would just give me one night . . ." A tear, suddenly, fell from one of Perry's eyes, sliding gently down his face. JD's fingers moved forward unconsciously to wipe it away, and both men gasped as flesh met flesh.

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard for any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

Well, I think we all know what 's going to come next . . . For those of you who have been wondering when the smut is going to happen, there's your answer. NEXT CHAPTER: RATED NC-17 FOR GRAPHIC M/M YAOI! Just a warning, for those who don't want to read that type of stuff.

The Harry that I was referring to in this chapter was not Harry _Potter_ but Harry _Dresden_ from the SciFi show _The Dresden Files_. Harry will show up in part two, but don't worry, you won't need to know a whole lot about the show to understand him -- just that he's a wizard. :)

Oh, and if this next chapter happens to get me kicked off of ff(dot)net, I'm totally blaming JD and Perry. They get me into _far_ to much trouble. I have another account that I haven't used yet (it's just sort of a back up), but if this account does happen to get shut down, I will be using the other one, so keep my email address handy just in case! I can email you the other site.

Later, Gators! Catch you on the flip side.


	6. Chapter Six

AN: Okay, you all know what's coming, so I don't think I have to repeat my warning from the last chapter, yea? All right. So, don't destroy me after you read this. It's been a while since I've had to write anything of this nature, and I'm a little rusty (hence why it's taken me so God damn long to post this chapter -- really sorry about that, by-the-by). I've been updating a lot of my stories recently because I've been working the night shift at a grocery store, giving me about eight hours of nothingness so I can stand around and write my ass off. Yup, life certainly is a peach. But, anyway, no more talking. Get on with the smuttness already! Enjoy!

_Chapter Six:_

Perry wasted no time in pulling the younger man against himself, crushing their lips together desperately. JD replied in kind, one hand finding its way to the back of Perry's head to deepen their kiss and the other hand snaking around the other man's waist and under his shirt, his palm flat against the small of his back and his fingers splayed to accommodate as much flesh as possible.

With one leg hooked over Perry's hip, JD flipped the older man onto his back, neither of them breaking the kiss as the younger straddled him. Fingers fumbled over buttons and strung through hair, scratching and pushing and pulling until the other relented or reciprocated. Perry's hands slid up and underneath JD's hoodie and the shirt beneath it, untangling their twisted tongues only long enough to shove them over the younger man's head, not even bothering to push them off his shoulders and down his long, slender arms. JD struggled against the entrapment -- difficult, considering his attention was currently elsewhere -- soon freeing himself and tossing the garments aside carelessly.

His fingers trembled over Perry's shirt buttons, finally foregoing them all together as he fisted two large handfuls of material and simply ripped it open, buttons flying every-which-way. He moaned, pressing their chests together and reveling in the feeling of the warm skin against his own. Perry wrapped his arms firmly around his torso, squeezing with as much strength as he could muster until he could feel the bones of his ribcage groaning in protest against JD's and the young man let escape a whimper.

"JD," he breathed between the squishy smacking of tongues and lips, "are you su-"

"Perry," JD pulled away slightly, their faces mere centimeters apart as they panted into each others' mouths, "you'd better make this worth my while. If . . . _When_ I leave tonight, I want something to remember for the rest of eternity, no matter _where_ I end up."

That was all the motivation that Perry needed. He grabbed the back of JD's head and smashed their lips together again painfully, flipping them over so that JD lay flat on his back, Perry lying between his legs, which were now wrapped tightly around his waist. The older man ground his hips into the younger's below him, smirking as JD gasped and arced into him.

"More," JD whispered harshly, his eyes dark and glassy. "Give me _more_, Perry." The man nodded, reaching between them and unbuttoning JD's jeans, pulling back as he slid them, along with his boxers, down his smooth, pale legs and off his feet, throwing them over the side of the bed. His eyes never left JD's as he undid his own pants, slipping them down to his knees and then leaning back into JD to kick them off over his calves, his ankles, his feet, his toes, and over the end of the bed, lost and forgotten on the floor that ceased to exist to either of them. Their straining erections rubbed against one another, eliciting a deep groan from them both.

"Inside me, Perry," JD begged, his head thrown back against the pillows and his beautiful eyes closed. "Please! I need you . . ."

"Only if you look at me," Perry whispered against the young man's lips, and a pair of dark brown orbs appeared from beneath fluttering lids. "There you are." He smiled, an expression rarely ever seen on Doctor Percival Cox -- a look so foreign that JD almost didn't recognize him.

A sudden thought brought Perry back into the land of reality, the smile slipping from his face as he said, "Newbie, I don't . . . I don't have any-" JD immediately took Perry's left hand, sticking his fore and middle fingers into his mouth and sucking on them lightly before pulling them out and admiring them as if he had just found the cure for cancer.

"That'll do," he said airily, his gaze shifting to Perry's surprised, distraught face.

"JD," the older man protested, "that's not . . . that's not enough to-"

"Perry, you promised," JD moaned, closing his eyes again and furrowing his eyebrows. "Please, I don't have much longer. It doesn't matter. Just-" The young man gave a sharp cry as the first of Perry's fingers entered him, tightening around the intruding digit immediately. "Oh, Christ! Oh, fuck! Oh, fucking Christ!" He latched onto the other man's shoulders and dug his fingernails in as deeply as the firm, tan skin would allow. He reveled in Perry's hiss of pain -- it was only fair, after all. If the older man was going to stick something into him, then, by God, he was going to stick something back.

JD bit his lip as a second finger entered him, tasting copper and sweat and saliva all at once as the fingers began to gently scissor within him. He wet his lips and opened his mouth in a silent scream as a third finger, finally, entered. Perry watched the younger man's reactions carefully, knowing that he was causing him pain but unable to stop, given their time limit and JD's incessant goading. He slid his fingers in and out a few more times before removing them entirely and holding his breath for the next step.

Before he had time to think, JD had spit into his own hand -- a puddle of a viscous-like glob, swirls of red mixed within -- and was running his wet, sticky fingers up and down Perry's length, causing him to gasp and move in time with the young man's steady strokes. And then JD was positioning him, smiling at his apprehensive look.

"Long and strong, Perry," the younger man instructed him, wrapping his legs firmly around Perry's hips and linking his ankles at the small of his back. The older chuckled at the words, beginning to inch his way into JD's tight, hot opening. JD cried out in pain, and Perry immediately came up to steal the cry form his lips, kissing him deep and hard as he continued his slow easing into the other's body. He thought that doing it slower would make it less painful, but every second was agony to JD, and he could finally stand it no longer, tightening his hold on Perry's hips and pulling him towards him until the older man was fully sheathed.

Both men cried out, JD for the sudden explosion of pain now shooting through every fiber of his being and Perry for the burst of pleasure shuddering through his whole form, right down to his toes.

"Christ, JD," he muttered, a whimper escaping with it. "Why . . . Why did you-"

"If you're going to make me do all the work, Perry," JD managed through a shuddering sob, every breath labored, every muscle spasming, every pore oozing sweat, "then it's not going to be much fun-" He swallowed painfully. "-is it?" Perry's breaths came in pants, his skin beginning to glisten with a sheen of sweat as well. He leaned his forehead against JD's collarbone, on the verge of inappropriate laughter and unwanted tears.

"Y-You gonna move, Per?" JD asked softly, his voice attempting a light and conversational tone but failing miserably. "Or do I have to do that for you too?" Perry let loose a long sigh, the air cool against JD's sweat-laced skin, and the younger man shivered, causing a fresh bout of pain to errupt everywhere. He whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut tight.

"JD?" Perry asked with concern.

"Listen, if you don't start moving, that spit is going to dry, and this is going to be _so_ much worse," the young man pointed out. "_Please_, Perry. Just cut the bullshit and _move_ already." The older man hesitated only a moment longer before fulfilling the other's wishes, moving back slightly and pushing in again with a small gasp of pleasure. JD bit his lip again to keep the cries from escaping, his eyes still shut as tightly as he could make them.

"JD," Perry whispered breathlessly, slowly beginning a steady rhythm of short strokes, "please, don't hide your eyes from me." It took a long moment, but the young man was finally able to open his eyes into more than just slits, revealing pained, dark orbs to the man above him. Tears welled in Perry's own eyes, spilling onto JD's cheeks and mingling with the sweat there.

"God, I'm so sorry, JD," he choked, his throat closing and his vision blurring but his pace never slowing. In fact, with JD's help, his thrusts were quickening and growing longer as he drew himself out further each time. Suddenly, with one particularly deep stroke, Perry hit JD's sweet spot, causing his back to arc, a wave of pleasure temporarily overtaking the pain. The older man silently thanked whoever might be listening to his prayers -- and hopefully not watching or listening to anything else -- that he had found JD's release from the pain, and he did his best to find that same spot each time. His hand, unconsciously, came up to JD's own throbbing member, curling his fingers around it and matching each stroke with every thrust.

JD was relaxing into their movements now, bringing his hips down to meet Perry every time. Perry could feel himself building, and quickened the last few strokes, crying out as he released himself in JD, the young man doing the same over the back of his fingers, his knuckles, his abdomen. And they reveled in the sticky substance mashed between their bodies as they panted to the point of trembling, Perry having only enough strength to pull himself carefully from the younger man and languidly stretch out beside him, linking their fingers between them.

After several moments of nothing but the sounds of their lungs working overtime, Perry panted, "Good?"

It took a few more minutes for JD to get his breathing under control long enough for him to plaster a goofy grin to his face and bring their clasped hands up to rest on his chest, saying, "That and more, Perry." He kissed the other man's fingers. "That and _so_ much more."

0 o 0 o 0

"JD."

The soft voice caused the young man to groan.

"Five more minutes," he muttered amidst a yawn.

"I'm afraid you don't have five more minutes, son," the voice sighed sadly. JD stiffened, wondering for a moment if the words had been part of a dream, and then slowly turned from his curled position against Perry's warm, sleeping form to find a familiar face.

"Dad?" He croaked, squinting into the darkness.

"Hey, Johnny," Sam Dorian smiled gently, standing beside the bed and staring down at his youngest son. "How are you doing?" JD glanced to the sleeping man beside him, grinning as he brushed a few stray curls from his forehead.

"I'm good," he said, turning back and giving the man a genuine smile. "I'm _real_ good."

"I'm so happy for you, buddy . . . I really am." His voice cracked as a tear curled around his cheekbone and slithered down towards his chin.

"It's time, huh?" The younger man guessed, a lump forming in his throat.

"Yea," Sam nodded, looking down at the floor, his hands in his pockets as he shifted from foot to foot. JD sighed and leaned over the side of the bed, grabbing his hooded sweatshirt and pulling it on. Shifting to the end of the bed, he found his jeans and slowly pulled them on with, strangely, no pain.

After buttoning and zipping them, he sat on the edge of the bed, bracing himself on his arms folded across his thighs.

"Can I have a minute?" He pleaded quietly, not looking up at his father.

"Of course," the older nodded once, disappearing through the bedroom door and leaving him to it. JD looked over his shoulder at the supposedly sleeping man, smirking.

"You can stop pretending now," he said softly. "I know you've been awake all night."

"And how would you know that?" Perry's groggy tone grumbled as he rolled onto his side, staring at JD through half-closed eyes.

"Because I have too," the other chuckled, sighing and turning around to sit cross-legged on the bed. A moment of silence passed between them.

"So, you're leaving," Perry finally said, attempting to keep his voice nonchalant and failing miserably.

"Yea," JD nodded, looking down at his wringing hands. "Yea, my dad's in the other room waiting for me."

"Oh," Perry said, sitting up and mirroring the young man's position, watching him closely. "This is . . . _it_, then?" JD swallowed hard, nodding again. "Well . . . good luck, Newbie. Where ever it is you're going . . . they'll sure have their hands full."

The young man looked up, fixing Perry with a watery smile. "You're not just saying that to get rid of me, are you?"

"JD, if I could keep you here forever . . . believe me, we wouldn't be having this conversation," the older man promised, his throat closing around the last word.

"This whole time . . ." JD shook his head sadly. "This whole _thing_ has been because I was a coward . . . I couldn't tell you how I felt."

"If anyone's to blame for this, JD, it's me," Perry countered. "I'm the reason you . . ." He sighed. "You'd still be here if it wasn't for me."

"No, Perry," JD smiled sadly, choking on a suppressed sob. "If it weren't for you, I would have been gone a long time ago." He reached forward, hoping to press his palm to the older man's cheek. But his hand stopped short, the smile disappearing from his face to be replaced by fear and confusion.

"JD? What is it?" Perry grabbed at the younger man's arm, but his fingers went right through his form.

"I'll see you around, Per," JD whispered. "I . . . I love you."

And before Perry could utter a single word, JD was gone, and he found himself quite alone.

_//"There is nothing so sad as the breaking of a heart and no one there to mend it."//_

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard for any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

Holy cow, how mean of me was it to just leave it like that? I'd kick my ass, but I still have the seventh chapter sitting right here next to me. So, have no fear, there is still _much_ more to come. I promise. :)_  
_


	7. Chapter Seven

AN: Hey, there! Oh my gosh, you guys are so amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your reviews. It means so much that people have been reading and enjoying this fic. :) Sorry that this one is a little late in being posted, but I promise the next one will definitely come a bit sooner (by Thursday, at least). So, I'll just quick post this chapter before I have to get ready for work. Damn those 3-11pm shifts! Well, enjoy!_  
_

_Chapter Seven:_

"Perry!"

The man jumped, the clipboard in this hand clattering to the ground as he turned to the small nurse beside him.

"Carla," he greeted with a solemn nod, admiring her for a split second. It wasn't often that he got to see her outside her hospital garb, and when he did, he couldn't help but notice how fantastic she looked.

_Christ, I _am_ gay_, he sighed inwardly, giving her a pointed look.

"What's wrong with you?" Carla's eyebrows furrowed as she bent down to retrieve the dropped item. "I called your name three times. Are you okay?"

"Fine," Perry took the offered object and set it on the counter, facing her with his hands in his coat pockets. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason," Carla shrugged. "I called here yesterday. Someone said you took the week off."

"Yea, well," Perry shrugged in turn, looking down at his feet uncomfortably, "I got bored." A silence fell between them before Carla spoke again.

"It's all right to miss him, you know," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm and rubbing it, "even if it's only because you won't have anyone to torture anymore."

Perry swallowed. "I thought you had the rest of the week off," he countered, crossing his arms as he pulled away from the touch.

"I do," she nodded. "I'm just here to . . . clear out his locker. Kelso said his replacement starts in a few days." Perry ground his teeth at the thought of someone using Newbie's locker -- _his_ Newbie's locker. Someone who wouldn't know a thing about JD; the way he looked, the way he talked, the way he smelled and thought and . . . kissed. It just wasn't right.

"Okay," he responded without emotion. "Let's hope he doesn't daydream and prance around in scrubs two-sizes too small." Carla shook her head with a knowing smile and rose to her tippy-toes, kissing him on the cheek and starting down the corridor towards the locker room. He stood there a second longer before leaning over his chart and pretending to read it.

"Excuse me . . ."

"Oh, for the love of God," Perry muttered, scrubbing his face before turning on the intruder swiftly. "_What_?" His breath caught in his throat as he recognized the person, immediately regretting having yelled in their face.

"It's a pleasure to see you too, Doctor," Sam Dorian smiled, completely unfazed by the outburst.

"Mister Dorian," Perry replied after a moment, noting the odd looks he was receiving from the nurses station -- Lavern in particular. He cleared his throat, grabbing his chart and discreetly motioning with his head for the other to follow him. As soon as they were far enough away, the doctor chanced to speak again.

"What can I do for you?"

"Well, I hate to bother you at work," Sam smiled apprehensively, attempting to keep up with the man, "but I'm having a bit of trouble finding JD."

"Not in my jurisdiciton, Mister Dorian," Perry stated mechanically. "Once a spirit has left earth, it is _not_ my problem."

"Left earth?" Sam's eyebrows furrowed. "Doctor Cox, JD hasn't _left_ yet. I've only just gotten here to get him." Perry stopped in his tracks, giving the spirit a hard look.

"What do you mean?" He demanded. "You took him this morning. He told me you were waiting for him." A frightened look crossed the other's face, and his gaze shifted from left to right.

"I never came to get Johnny," he said quietly, his eyes searching Perry's for another explanation.

"Sam," Perry replied slowly, seriously, as if saying it more clearly would make it true, "he said it was you. He said you came to get him."

"I'm _telling_ you, I haven't even _seen_ him yet," Sam protested. Perry looked around and groaned as a group of interns stood a few feet away, gawking at him like some sort of freak show at the circus.

"What?" He growled as menacingly as possible, fire alight in his eyes. Only one intern dared to speak, and even so, it was in a small, mousy voice.

"Doctor Cox . . . Sir . . . We were wondering-"

"No," the older man nearly shouted, causing a few of the more skittish interns to flee.

"But, Sir," another piped up, "with Doctor Dorian . . . _gone_ . . . and Doctor Reid taking time off, we have no one to mentor us."

"And you think _I'm_ a suitable replacement?" Perry asked incredulously, looking at them all with disgust. "Absolutely not! Go! Go, go, go, go, go! Shoo!" He made a dismissive motion with his hand and started down the hallway, hearing the rest of them scatter. As quickly as he could, he found the on-call room, kicking out two sleeping doctors and locking himself -- and Sam -- inside.

"Perry," Sam cried hysterically, "someone has my son. Someone _took_ my son."

"Not some_one_," Perry sighed with frustration, pushing the heel of his right palm into his eyelid. "Some_thing_."

"What? What was it?"

"A soul-snatcher."

"A . . . A _what_?" Sam looked at him skeptically, much like JD had the first time he had been told about the spiritual phenomenons.

"_Soul-snatcher_," the other man said with emphasis, crossing his arms. "Being that snatches souls. Christ, I'm having deja vu." Perry rubbed at his temple.

"And . . . what happens when these 'soul-snatchers' take a spirit?"

The doctor swallowed hard, averting his gaze and saying, "Someone should have told you about this. It's not my job to teach you guys about this stuff."

"Perry," Sam ground out calmly, raising his hands as if to place them on the other man's shoulders, "tell me what happened to my son."

"He's gone," Perry stated simply, a defeated look taking his face. "He's been consumed. There's no way to bring him back."

Both men stood in silence for a long moment, Sam's expression unreadable.

"No," he said finally, the word soft and barely audible. "No, Johnny's a fighter. He'd never let one of those things take him."

"Sam, I'm sorry, but there's just no beating them," Perry replied sadly. "He's gone. You'll just have to accept it."

"You know him as well as I do," the spirit countered as he began to pace. "Probably even more. You _know_ he'll put up a fight. There's no way this thing got the better of him."

"Mister Dorian-"

"_Please_, Perry," Sam pleaded desperately, stopping in front of the doctor and looking at him hopefully. "Please don't give up on my son. Not yet. Not after everything he's done . . . everything he's gone through."

Perry eyed him curiously, saying, "You know what happened with . . . _Lou_, don't you?"

"Dan told me," Sam confessed, "a few years ago. I was in town for the weekend, and we went to get drunk . . . _really_ drunk. He told me. _Everything_." Perry sighed, turning his back on the man as he contemplated their conversation.

"What makes you think that out of every single soul this thing has been up against, JD will be the one to fight it?" He demanded skeptically.

"He's your _Guardian_, isn't he?" Sam questioned curiously, his eyebrows raising. Perry turned on him.

"You know that he's my _Guardian_, but you don't know about soul-snatchers?" He asked incredulously.

"Hey, I'm still new to this," the other protested defensively. "Cut me a little slack, would you? I've barely been dead a few weeks."

"Fine," Perry covered his eyes with one hand, the other raised to stop Sam from continuing, "but being my _Guardian_ has nothing to do with it. Trust me, I've had enough experience to know about this."

"Okay," Sam nodded, "um . . . let's start with what you were doing _before_ this . . . soul-snatcher turned up."

Perry hesitated before answering, "He was with me."

"Doing what?"

"Does it matter?"

"Perry, please," Sam said exhaustedly. "I just want to find my son and take him home."

"And I would like nothing more than to see him go off into that bright light in the sky," Perry replied, "but I don't think our . . . _activities_ had anything to do with him being taken." Sam searched the man's face, a look of surprise and understanding dawning over him.

"Oh," he said quietly, staring at him a moment longer before it completely set in and his eyes widened. "_Oh_ . . . uh . . . How long have you two been . . ."

"That was the first time," Perry admitted, rather uncomfortable with the subject topic. "It just . . . happened." Sam smiled slightly.

"You love him, don't you?"

". . . Yea."

"And he loves you." Sam's smile grew wider.

"Yea, he . . . it was the last thing he said before he disappeared." Sam's smile lessened.

"But you didn't have a chance to tell _him_."

"No," Perry shook his head, and the other man closed his eyes sadly.

"That was it," he whispered, his tone full of sorrow.

"What?" The doctor inquired with confusion.

"That was his way out of this," Sam explained, his voice strained. "That was his ticket back to a life on earth . . . to be _human _again."

"_What_?!" Perry repeated more forcefully, wanting to grab the man and shake him until he elaborated.

"It doesn't happen often, Perry . . . Maybe once every hundred years or so-" The doctor couldn't help but roll his eyes at the cliche. "-but . . . it's just _destiny_."

"Destiny?" Perry asked skeptically, one eyebrow raised. "You're _joking_, right?"

"Perry, this is _serious_," Sam sighed with exasperation. "This could be Johnny's last chance. We have to find him."

"_How_?"

"I . . . I don't know," Sam's shoulders slumped. "Aren't you supposed to be able to sense him or something?"

"Again," Perry eyed him suspiciously, "I have to wonder how you know about all this but were completely oblivious about the soul-snatcher."

"Are you picking up on anything?" Sam ignored the statement, and the doctor sighed.

"No," he replied quietly, "if he _is_ still with that thing, he's not on earth."

"All right," the spirit nodded, thinking of their next action, "I'll . . . see what I can find. You just be ready if you come across anything. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay," Perry gave a curt nod, turning and flipping the lock sideways. Before he left or even opened the door, Sam was gone, and the hunt for JD began.

0 o 0 o 0

"Dad?" JD called into the darkness surrounding him. "Where'd you go?" The only answer he received was his own voice echoing back to him.

"Hello? Is anybody there?"

"Jonathon Dorian," a deep, booming voice reverberated around him, shaking his very being. His own voice stuck to the back of his throat, and he was unable to respond. "I am honored to finally meet the chosen _Guardian_."

"Uh . . . 'chosen'?" The young man inquired weakly, his voice little more than a squeak as a gust of cold wind forced him back a few steps.

"You, who would ultimately cause the downfall of the soul-snatchers," the voice continued, "are to be extinguished."

"Extinguished?" JD choked meekly. "As in-"

"You upset the balance," the voice interrupted. "We cannot allow your destiny to be fulfilled."

"Um," JD swallowed loudly, "I don't suppose giving you my word that I won't do anything would mean anything?"

"I'm sorry. It does not." JD cursed. "As long as you exist, Jonathon Dorian, so does your destiny, as well as the possibility of destroying the balance of good and evil."

"Listen . . . not that I'm not a big supporter of this 'balance' thing," JD said cautiously, "but . . . wouldn't it be easier without the bad guys? I mean, no more useless killings, and you'd have a hell of an increase in incoming souls."

"Without the balance, the spiritual world cannot peacefully coincide with earth," the voice pointed out, and the young man detected a hint of regret in the tone.

"But . . . you don't _want_ to extinguish me," he said quietly, carefully. "You _can't_."

"And why not?"

"Because . . . I'm Perry's _Guardian_," JD said with a little more courage, sure that he was making a solid case. "Chosen or not, he still needs me."

"The _Apparitionist_ is capable of surviving without his _Guardian_," the voice replied chastisingly. "He will be appointed a new one when your spirit has been dealt with."

"But I'm this _chosen_ person, right?" JD tried desperately. "Doesn't getting rid of _me_ upset the balance?"

"You only give more reason to be extinguished," the voice said taxingly. "You try our patience, Jonathon Dorian."

"But I love him!" Silence followed the words, and JD looked into the darkness, panting from the adrenalin rush. "And . . . And he loves me!" Another silence but not as long as the first.

"You have _proof_ of this 'love'?" The voice demanded, hesitancy apparent in the tone. JD's shoulders slumped.

"How do you prove love?" He asked in defeat.

"The same way you prove hate. You humans express everything through actions."

"A-Actions?" JD inquired curiously, hoping that the voice was not asking him and Perry to . . . _perform_ in front of them -- whoever _them_ was.

"Show us your love, Jonathon Dorian, and we will consider allowing your existence."

"And I'm supposed to trust you?" JD glanced around skeptically. "I'm supposed to trust a soul-snatcher?"

"You misunderstand," the voice corrected. "_We_ are not soul-snatchers."

"Then . . . who are you?"

0 o 0 o 0

"I'm not going to ask you again," Perry shouted angrily at the black cloud billowing before him. The being shuddered -- an odd sight from a cluster of what was only an inky mist -- replying, "I have already told you; I did not take him." It's voice was not merely one, but many -- the voices of the souls it had consumed, the ones that would never find peace. "He was gone before his time on earth was finished."

"And you expect me to believe that?" Perry spat, crossing his arms. He, Sam, and the soul-snatcher stood in the center of his apartment, Sam having found the dark form hovering around the cemetery and forcing him to meet with the _Apparitionist_.

"You insult my integrity," the being growled with indignation.

"Integrity?" Perry huffed. "Since when does something that eats souls have integrity?"

"Good or evil, _Apparitionist_," the cries of many replied, "there is a balance, and it must be upheld."

Perry chanced a skeptical look at Sam, who glared at the mist angrily.

"_Where_ the hell did you take my son?" He shouted, having no effect on it.

After a moment of silence, Perry sighed, rubbing his temples and asking, "if _you_ didn't take him, then who did?"

"I am uncertain as to where his soul now resides," the being responded sincerely, "but one can only assume that it is not somewhere he should be."

Perry rolled his eyes, saying, "You've got a real gift for stating the obvious."

"Am I free to leave?" The voices inquired with annoyance. A sudden barrage of knocking on the door caused a shift in attention.

"No," Perry answered distractedly, heading to the source of the nose and flinging it open aggravatedly. Before he could oh-so politely tell the intruder to "fuck off," they were brushing past him and pacing his apartment like there was no tomorrow.

"I can't believe it, Coxy. I can't _believe _you would keep something this huge from me."

"Dan?" Perry asked, barely recognizing the man. He was dissheveled. More than that, he was gaunt, plae, and a little more than malnourished. He wore a pair of grungy pajama bottoms and a sweat-stained, stretched-out white tank top that had probably seen too many bars in its time.

"I love ya, Coxeroony, but sometimes," Dan stopped pacing, pointing an accusatory finger at the other man, "sometimes I hate you."

"Whoa, slow down," Perry raised both hands. "Dan, what's going on?"

Eyes wide and red-rimmed, Dan stated, "Coxy, I know where JD is."

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard for any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

Alright, Kats and Kittens. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I bet you were all wondering how this thing was gonna keep going, huh? Well, now you know. EXCELLENT! And I know I said I wouldn't be bringing in Perry's cousin, Harry Dresden, until the next part, but I'm thinking I want to introduce him a little early. So he'll be in the next chapter (which I have right here next to me, but you can't have it until I decide to post it . . . BWAHAHA!). Later, Gators! Catch you on the flip side, yea?


	8. Chapter Eight

AN: Howdy! Wow. Again, you guys have amazed me with your awesome reviews! Thanks so much! I love ya with every part of my heart. Really! So, as I mentioned in the last chapter, Harry Dresden (from the television series _The Dresden Files_) will be making an appearance in this chapter and probably in the last couple of chapters. So, without further ado, enjoy!

_Chapter Eight:_

"Coxy, I know where JD is."

"You . . . You know . . ." Perry began in a hoarse voice, blinking rapidly. "You've seen him?"

"He was in my dream," Dan explained quickly. "He told me everything -- the _Apparitionist_, the _Guardian_, soul-snatchers; _everything_."

"Okay, okay," Perry grabbed both his shoulders, holding them tightly. "_Where_ is he, Dan? I need to know who took him."

Dan rubbed at his left temple, his eyes shifting back and forth continuously as he tried to remember everything his brother had said in the dream.

"The Council," he replied dazedly. "He said you called them the 'powers that be.'" Perry nodded, recalling the conversation from the car. "They're the ones that keep the balance -- the whole good versus evil . . . thing -- and they said they have to . . . _extinguish_ him." At this, Dan looked very worried, and Perry swallowed hard.

"Did he . . . say why?"

"Yea," Dan nodded, taking a deep breath as he started to calm down. "Yea, he said something about being the _chosen_ and how he was supposed to get rid of all the soul-snatchers and . . ." He stared hard into Perry's eyes, searching him for something, "he told be about last night . . . about the two of you." Perry looked taken aback.

"Oh," he said softly.

"He loves you, Per." The eldest of the Dorian sons gave him a serious look. "This could be his one chance to come back . . . and if you were just in it for a one-night fuck, so help me God-"

"No," Perry was quick to interject, shaking his head. "No, I . . . I feel the same way. I want him back, Dan. I _need_ him to come back." Dan could see the desperation in the man's face, and he nodded.

"Okay. Then this is what he said he's supposed to do . . ."

0 o 0 o 0

JD was nervous.

What if Dan hadn't gotten his message? What if he had written if off as some stupid dream? What if he _had_ believed it, and his friends had put him in an institution for the insane? What if-

"Jonathon Dorian," the booming voice interrupted his paranoid thoughts, and he jumped, startled by the sudden noise.

"Y-Yea?" He answered meekly, clearing his throat and swallowing audibly.

"You have completed your task?"

JD nodded. "I did what you said. I got a message to Perry, uh . . . the _Apparitionist_."

"Very well. You will be sent back to convince us of this _love_ you have put so much faith into."

"How long do I have?"

"An equivalent of three minutes."

"Wh-What?!" JD demanded incredulously. "But that's not enough-"

0 o 0 o 0

". . . this is what he's supposed to do-" A desperate knock on Perry's apartment door startled both men. The older released the air in his lungs in an exasperated gust, trudging towards the door but stopping midway and looking around.

"Where's that _thing_?" He demanded, looking to Sam expectantly.

"What thing?" Dan asked with confusion, glancing around.

"It left," the spirit replied apologetically, Dan obviously oblivious to his presence. "I'm sorry. It just . . . disappeared."

"Shit," Perry cursed under his breath. "Well, go look for it." Sam nodded, disappearing as Perry headed for the door and wiped a hand along the length of his face. He opened the door roughly, ready to demand that whoever dared to bother him to go the hell away (an improvement from his earlier possible retort of "fuck off") but found himself without words as the form on the other side looked up from his worn sneakers and grinned at him shyly.

"Hey," the figure said softly, biting his bottom lip and bouncing on his feet slightly.

"JD?" Perry whispered, his voice carrying to the living room, where Dan stood, craning his neck to see out the door. The young man could stand it no longer, giving a cry of delight and jumping into the man's arms, crushing their lips together. Perry didn't miss a beat, spinning JD around and immediately melting into the kiss. It lingered for a long moment before they slowly pulled apart.

"You think that did it?" JD whispered, a goofy smile taking his face.

"Did what?" Perry asked dazedly, making the young man's smile falter.

"He didn't tell you?"

"Little brother?" Dan's hesitant voice echoed from across the room, and both men turned to the toussled figure.

"He can see me?" JD questioned with surprise, eyebrows raising. Perry shrugged, putting the man down as Dan approached them cautiously, staring at his younger brother with both skepticism and hope.

"It's . . . It's really you?" His voice trailed off as it failed him momentarily. JD quickly wrapped his arms around Dan's torso, squeezing him for a he was worth. The older of the two buried his face into JD's shoulder, sobbing almost violently as he fisted the fabric of the young man's hooded sweatshirt.

"Oh God, Johnny," he cried, his voice muffled. "I thought . . . I thought I lost you. I thought I was the only one left."

"I'm sorry, Dan," JD breathed with a shudder. "I'm so sorry. I'm going to fix this. I swear. Everything's going to be fine. You'll be fine." They pulled apart, and Dan ruffled his hair, sniffling and giving him a watery smile.

"JD," Perry said quietly, and the younger man turned to him, "what do you have to fix?"

"The Council," JD explained. "We're supposed to . . . _prove_ our love to them."

"How?" The older asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"I don't know," JD replied sadly, snaking his arms around Perry's waist, "but I've only got about another minute."

"B-But-" Perry stuttered, looking at him helplessly, but JD just shook his head with a small smile.

"Perry, there's no time," he whispered, his voice trembling and his eyes welling with tears. "I only wanted to say goodbye . . . I love you, Perry. Please, just let this happen."

"JD, I can't." The man's voice was strained, and he felt like being sick. How could the younger man ask this of him? If he let him go . . . if he let that damned Council do what ever the hell they wanted . . . JD would be gone for good. "Don't _do_ this. We'll figure something out. We can . . . We can . . ."

"There's nothing more to do," JD countered. "I have to go, Perry. Just . . . kiss me and say goodbye."

Perry complied with the first wish immediately, making the kiss as long and as passionate as possible. When the time came for him to pull away, he kept his eyes closed, leaning his forehead against the younger man's as tears fell to his cheeks.

"Goodbye," he choked, suddenly feeling nothing but air in his arms.

"Coxeroonie?" Dan asked softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Is that it? He's just . . . gone?"

"Yea," Perry wiped off his face, sniffling and squaring his shoulders as he pulled from Dan's grip. "Yea, that's it. He's gone. There's nothing else to do." He started towards the liquor cabinet, pouring himself a large glass and plopping down on the couch.

"No," Dan said sternly, bee-lining it to the older man, snatching the drink from his hand, and slamming it onto the table. "No, that can't be everything. _Think_, Perry. There has to be another way. We have to talk to this '_Council_' thing, tell them there's been a mistake."

Dan could see Perry's blank look shift into a thoughtful gaze.

"There's one way I might be able to get in touch with them," the older man said quietly, rubbing the back of his head and sitting forward to lean on his thighs. "I have a cousin . . ."

"A cousin?" Dan inquired skeptically. "How's a _cousin_ going to help us get to the Council?"

Perry stood, grabbing his keys from the table beside the door and his jacket.

"He's a . . . _special_ cousin," he replied, Dan following him out the door and down the hallway. "It might be best if you stay here."

"No," Dan shook his head defiantly, meeting the man's long strides. "No way. I'm coming with you. This is _my_ little brother, and if there's a chance we can get him back, then I'm all in." Perry stopped at the elevator and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Fine. But you do what I tell you to do. I don't want a screw up because _someone_ jumped the gun, all right?"

"Whatever you say," Dan nodded vigorously. "You're the boss."

"Damn straight," Perry muttered, stepping into the compartment as the elevator doors slid open. "Come on."

0 o 0 o 0

"So this cousin of yours," Dan said quietly, staring out the passenger side window of Perry's Porsche at the passing scenery, "what makes you think he'll be any help?"

"He can get us to see the Council," Perry replied with exasperation. "That's all you need to know."

"You said he's 'special,'" Dan continued to pursue the subject despite the other's obvious attempt to thwart it. "Special like you?" Perry said nothing. "Special like JD?" Again, the older man did not reply, but his grip on the steering wheel tightened slightly. "Perry, _please_, I told you I want to be apart of this. If I don't know all the facts, then how am I supposed to-"

"Listen," Perry interrupted. "I _can't _tell you everything, Dan. Believe me, if I could, you would know in a heartbeat, but there are certain _things_ out there that would give anything to have that kind of information, and I just can't chance puting someone I know in danger." Dan sat in silence for a moment, staring at the man.

"Well, you could have just said so," he shrugged, his attention returning to the window. Perry sighed and shook his head.

This whole ordeal was giving him an ulcer.

0 o 0 o 0

_Harry Dresden_

_Wizard_

"Wizard?" Dan asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he stared curiously at the gold lettering on the green, double doors of a small, run-down building. "I thought you said-"

"Yea, well if I knew he was going to advertise his profession, I probably would have told you, wouldn't I?" Perry snapped, growling as he reached for the door handle and opened it, a jingling noise sounding. "Must be the only damn wizard in the Chicago phone book." Dan looked around in amazement at the various books and strange objects.

"So he's . . . some sort of magician?" He inquired, poking at a skull on a nearby table.

"Harry?" Perry called, glancing around for his cousin.

"He's not in," a voice replied from behind the counter, and Dan jumped.

"Jesus! Where the _fuck_ did he come from?"

"Bob," Perry approached the counter with a nod, leaning against it. "I need to see Harry."

"It's nice to see you too, Perry," Bob said nonchalantly. "My, my, haven't we grown up? How many years has it been?"

"Bob, please, I need to speak with Harry," the other man pleaded. "Something's happened to my _Guardian_. I need to see the Council."

"Mighty big request for an _Apparitionist_."

Perry looked up to the balcony above, finding his cousin, hockey stick in hand, staring down at him.

"Harry," the doctor greeted not-so-warmly. Harry's gaze shifted to Dan.

"Who's your friend?"

"None of your business," Perry replied with irritation. "I need to see the Council."

"What? No 'please'?" Harry asked, eyebrows quirked as he made his way downstairs. "I have to say, Perry, after more than a decade of no word from you and then showing up out of no where only to demand something . . . things aren't really looking in your favor."

"I'm not the only one with a telephone, Harry," Perry pointed out, crossing his arms and glaring at the man. "I didn't come to argue with you. My _Guardian_ is dead, and I need to see the Council." Harry stopped in his tracks.

"Ben's dead?" He asked quietly.

"Ben has _been_ dead for a while now," the other man responded, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. "His replacement died a few days ago, and I'd really like to have him back." Harry overcame his shock, approaching Perry with a purely professional air.

"It doesn't work that way, Per," he said. "You know that."

"It does when they _took_ him from me," Perry spat, causing a silence to engulf the room.

"He must have done something," Harry tried to defend his _employers_ (so to speak). "They wouldn't take him for no reason."

"Other than to keep their precious balance," the doctor scoffed. "He's the chosen. He's the one that's going to make our lives a whole lot easier." Harry looked at him skeptically.

"What aren't you telling me?" He asked warily. Perry rolled his eyes, glancing at Dan briefly before mumbling something. "What was that?" Harry put a hand to his ear dramatically and leaned forward. "Didn't quite catch it."

"He killed himself to begin with," Perry repeated with annoyance. The wizard sighed, shaking his head.

"You know the rules," he said matter-of-factly. "Even if the Council took him unjustly, it was still after the fact, and you can't change that."

"Yea, but that doesn't give them the right to make him disappear."

"As far as _they're_ concerned, you don't have a say in what _is_ and _isn't_ their right," Harry replied, shoving his way past Perry and making his way behind the counter. "_You_ owe _them_, remember? Without them, you wouldn't be here." Perry's jaw tightened. He couldn't argue with that. "Perry, it's a known fact that you and the Council have never gotten along. If you make a big deal of this, everyone is going to know that you only want to pick a fight."

"This isn't 'picking a fight,'" the doctor protested, slamming his hands on the counter. "It's saving an innocent. He didn't deserve to die. It . . . It was my fault."

"I thought you said he killed himself," Harry pointed out quietly, fixing the man with a curious gaze.

"He did," Perry nodded solemnly. "Because of _me_. If anyone should be dead, Harry, it's me." The wizard leaned forward on the counter, contemplating the request more thoroughly.

"Please," Dan spoke up, and three pairs of eyes trained on him. "He's . . . He's my little brother. Without him, I have no one. I'm all alone."

"Perry," Harry began desperately, trying to make the man understand that rules were rules, no matter the circumstance . . .

"Harry, I'm in love with him."

. . . except that.

"_Jesus_, Perry, why didn't you just say so?" The wizard asked with annoyance, making his way hurriedly into the back room and motioning for the others to follow. "You know, we could have avoided all of this if-"

"Enough," Perry interrupted. "Just get me to the Council, and I'll pretend you didn't _ditch_ me when we were twenty for a life of hocus pocus."

"It was a _calling_," Harry countered, snatching a book from a nearby bookshelf and thumbing through it. "Or don't you understand the whole inevitable destiny of a human being?"

"You could have said no," the doctor crossed his arms and leaned against a wall, "or at least come back. You didn't have to renounce your _Guardianship_."

"I left. You got _Ben_ in exchange," Harry replied monotonously. "I'd say that's a pretty fair trade."

"Sure," Perry snorted.

"Got it," the wizard said, clutching his hockey stick tightly and pointing the end towards Perry. He squared his shoulders, clearing his throat and muttering a few inaudible words. Looking up, he smiled triumphantly, bringing the hockey stick back to his side and leaning on it like one might on a crutch. Perry stood as still as stone, and dan looked back and forth between the two men, clearly confused.

"Is . . . that it?" He asked, one eyebrow quirked. Harry raised a hand, waving it at the doctor, Perry having time only to nod his head in thanks before, suddenly, disappearing.

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard to any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

Okay, here's the dealio, Kats and Kittens. There are two (count 'em, TWO) chapter left in this part, then I start into the next. I know, because I have both chapters sitting here beside me, staring at me and saying, "Post us! Post us!"

And another little dealio. So, in the show, it never really says where exactly Sacred Heart is, but having done some extensive (and when I say "extensive" I mean doing a one-minute google search) on the matter, I have determined that I'm going to place the hospital in New Jersey, as it is probably closer to Chicago then any other place that was suggested in the forums and yahoo. So, I went and did _more_ extensive research (this one taking about five minutes) to see how long it would take for them to drive from New Jersey to Chicago, and I came up with 11 1/2 hours, but I'm going to go with 13 for safety purposes. If anyone objects to this time constraint, please feel free to "blow it out your ass" . . . or just tell me what you think. That's cool too . . .

So, with that, I shall be off. Later, Gators! Catch you on the flip side, yea:)


	9. Chapter Nine

AN: Alright, Kats and Kittens. You convinced me. I've made the hospital in California, which means the drive to Chicago is either one hell of a drive . . . or they've taken a plane (which they have). I just didn't specify that fact . . . so there. Alright! On to the second-to-last chapter of this series. W00t! It's been fun, I gotta say. In the last chapter, I'll be replying to some reviews, so make sure to get a word in for this chapter, yea? Good dealio, yo. :) Enjoy!

_Chapter Nine:_

It was cold -- alarmingly so, as a matter of fact. Perry could barely keep himself from shivering, and his teeth stung with every chilled breath as his lungs strained against the building pressure. His ears popped, and he grunted in pain, resisting the urge to fall to his knees as his legs weakened.

"_Apparitionist_," a deep, booming voice echoed, causing him to cry out and cover his ears. "We have not summoned you."

"You have my _Guardian_," Perry shouted, closing his eyes against the pain. "I want him back."

"Impossible," the voice stated bluntly. "Your former _Guardian_-"

"He's not my 'former' _anything_," Perry protested. "You've made a mistake. He doesn't deserve this."

"Why is that?"

"Because . . ." Perry trailed off as he felt a warm, sticky liquid slide down through his left nostril and over his lips. He touched his fingers to it and they came back red.

"No living being was meant to be here," the voice explained quietly. "If you do not leave soon, you will die."

Perry shook his head.

"I'm not leaving until I see JD. Where is he?"

A figure, suddenly, appeared beside the man, writhing on the floor.

"JD," Perry breathed the word -- more of a wheeze, really -- and fell to his knees beside him. "Oh God, JD." The young man looked up at him with pained eyes and attempted a smile as Perry stroked his cheek.

"P-Per," he gurgled, his eyebrows knitting together and his smile fading. "Think I would have . . . tried a little harder if . . . i-if I knew it was going to hurt this much."

"Shh, Newbie," Perry whispered, wincing as a few blood droplets fell to JD's shirt. JD reached up, swiping a thumb under the man's left eye, pulling it back to reveal a mixture of tears and blood.

"Wh-What's . . . happening to you?"

"It's nothing," Perry grinned sadly and shook his head. "Don't worry. I'm taking you home."

"_Apparitionist_," the voice boomed once again, and the older man ducked his head, grinding his teeth and covering his ears. "You must leave at once. Your body will not withstand this environment much longer. You're _Guardian_ is already undergoing the extinguishing. You have no reason to stay."

JD looked worried, his eyes pleading him to leave, but Perry would not have it.

"No," he said as loudly as he could, coughing. His chest exploded in agony as he felt one of his lungs collapse. "I'm not . . . I'm not leaving him." He stared hard into JD's eyes before his vision became clouded by blood. He could feel it pooling at the back of his throat, preventing him from taking another breath.

"Perry, no," JD cried softly, his eyes closing tightly as he, too, felt his body being torn apart. His insides felt as if they were melting, and he doubled over, turning onto his side and hugging Perry's hand to him.

"You would die for your _Guardian_?" The voice inquired, clearly perplexed. Perry spat a glob of blood on the ground, turning his face upward and managing two words before he collapsed into unconsciousness.

"I would."

0 o 0 o 0

Perry awoke with a groan, causing a sharp pain to erupt in his head. The sound of scuffling feet echoed around him, and the sudden touch of a cold hand against his forehead made him jump.

"Perry?" A familiar voice inquired quietly. He pulled from the hand, gasping and opening his eyes wide. Two faces stared down at him worriedly.

"Coxy? You okay?" Dan asked, leaning in a little too close for comfort.

"You had us worried there for a while." Harry gave a shaky smile and a chuckle. "It was nearly three hours before you came back . . . You were covered in blood. What the hell happened?"

"Where's JD?" Perry asked hurriedly, sitting up quickly to find himself on a well-worn sofa.

"He didn't come back with you," Dan explained. "We were hoping you could tell us what happened between you and the Council." The doctor swallowed loudly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and hide his face in his hands.

"They were killing him," he managed through tightened vocal chords. "Bastards had him right there in front of me . . . and he was dying."

"Was that . . . Was that _his_ blood on you?" Dan asked weakly, looking as if he might be sick.

"No," Perry shook his head, sniffling and coughing. "No, it was mine." He could still taste a metallic bitterness at the back of his throat, and he grimaced. "The, uh . . . Their environment is . . . pressurized or something. I couldn't . . . I didn't want to leave him." He cleared his throat. "Could I get some water?"

Harry reached towards the coffee table, grabbing the empty glass that sat near the center. As soon as he touched it, it began to fill with water.

"Whoa," Dan said in astonishment, gawking at the cup as the wizard handed it to Perry.

"Thanks," the man croaked, accepting it and draining the thing within seconds. He expelled a quick breath, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth. Just as his fingertips brushed his lips, his eyes widened, and the glass dropped from his hand, shattering against the wooden floor.

"What?" Harry asked, grasping his cousin's arm lightly. "What's wrong?"

"He's here," Perry said softly, turning to the men and looking at them as if begging them to believe him. "He's back. JD's on earth!"

0 o 0 o 0

Harry threw, yet another, book across the room, growling as he grabbed for another from the slowly emptying bookshelf. Perry had asked for a quick trip back to California. A _very_ quick trip. Harry had an instantaneous transport spell around there somewhere. He _knew_ he did . . . He just couldn't remember where he had last left it.

"Coxy, _please_, just tell me what's going on," Dan pleaded, he and Perry sitting on the couch. Perry was still somewhat woozy from his trip to see the Council, and he only wanted a few minutes of silence while his cousin searched for the book they needed. Naturally, with Dan at his side, there was absolutely no chance of getting any rest whatsoever.

"Perry!" Dan nearly shouted when the man failed to answer. The doctor turned on him abruptly, a growl in the back of his throat.

"Dan, your brother was buried almost a week ago," he explained through gritted teeth. "When the Council put him back on earth, they put him back in his body . . . which is _still buried_." A look of horror crossed Dan's face, and he went pale, nearly toppling off the sofa. He turned to Harry, who glanced at them momentarily with a similar look on his face before hurrying his search.

"We have to get to the cemetery!" The eldest of the Dorian sons said hysterically, standing and stumbling as he began to pace in front of Perry. The doctor grabbed the younger man as he passed by him, pulling him back down to sit beside him and giving him a pointed look.

"What the hell do you think we're trying to do?" He asked with annoyance. "The sooner Harry finds that book, the sooner-"

"Got it!" Harry exclaimed, rushing to the two men and seating himself on the coffee table opposite them. "Alright, we just say this incantation here-" He pointed to a small paragraph of words on the page before him. "-insert our destination here-" A blank spot resided within the paragraph. "-and we should be there in no time."

"Great," Perry nodded, looking to Dan. "Ready?"

Dan nodded as well, and Perry thought that he had never looked so serious in all the time that he had known him.

0 o 0 o 0

The cemetery was quiet, cold -- everything one would expect a cemetery to be in the dead of night. And the three men digging up the grave of one, Jonathon Dorian, felt the brunt of it. As their hole grew deeper, they alternated staying above ground to keep watch -- first Dan, then Harry, then Perry. Perry knew the grounds keeper well, having met him several times on his many excursions to the burial ground. He was an elderly man, maybe seventy or so, and he had fairly bad arthritis. Perry had, many times, prescribed him medication for his aching bones, for which the man was very grateful, but the doctor doubted very much that the old man would let slip by the unburial of their friend because of a simple favor. Lucky for all three of them, Perry had not been around recently to provide the man with a new prescription, and with his arthritis acting up, he would be less likely to make his regular rounds.

Dan looked around, nervously bouncing on his toes. This was his third lookout shift within the last hour and a half, and he was growing more anxious as each minute passed. He glanced down into the hole, where Perry and Harry seemed to be nearing the casket, two corners already poking through the dirt. He swallowed, the action doing nothing for his dry throat.

"Do you . . . Do you think . . ." He could not finish his sentence, his eyes shifting over the casket as the other two wiped the dirt from it. Both heaved painfully, Harry dropping to his knees and leaning back against the dirt wall while Perry kneeled beside the casket and stared at it a moment. It had only taken an instant for them to travel from Harry's office to the cemetery, but it had taken a good ten minutes of rifling through the cemetery tool shed before they had even begun to dig. If the young man within really _had_ been sent back by the Council . . . it would be a fairly cruel joke to have him suffocate in his casket before they could reach him.

Perry took a deep breath, reaching a shaky hand towards the lid and grasping it tightly until his knuckles turned white. His arms throbbed from digging for so long. Harry leaned over and grabbed the lid as well, pulling as best he could. Together they were able to pop the lid, both exchanging a look before Perry pushed it all the way open.

The doctor looked down onto the pale face of his lover, the young man's form still and lifeless. His chest did not move with that familiar, rhythmic up and down motion. His pulse point did not throb with every heartbeat. John Dorian was just as dead as he had ever been.

"He's not moving," Dan said from behind them, having jumped down into the pit when the casket was opened. "Why isn't he moving?" Perry sat back on his haunches, wiping the sweat from his face and coughing from the amount of dirt-dust in his lungs.

"I don't know," he replied quietly, linking his fingers behind his head.

"Coxy," Dan pleaded, falling to his knees beside the man and looking at him desperately, "you said-"

"_I know what I said_!" Perry shouted. "_Believe_ me! This doesn't make sense to me either!"

Harry leaned over the casket, staring down at the figure within. Perry hadn't mentioned how young he was. In fact, Perry hadn't mentioned much about him at all. But he really was rather . . .

"Young," he murmured aloud with a sigh. Perry sat forward, placing his hands on either side of the casket, leaning in close to JD's face, and staring at him hard.

"Why can I still sense you if you're dead?" He whispered, carefully reaching forward and stroking the side of the young man's face with the backs of his fingers.

Suddenly, JD jerked, his eyes opening wide as he took in a breath that threatened to burst his lungs.

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard to any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

Okay, how's that for a cliff hanger? Dang . . . Even _I_ think that's mean. Well, one last chapter, and I'll have it posted on Friday. _Promise!_ And then the second part will be up as soon as I finish the first chapter (I'm about halfway through with that). So . . . thanks for putting up with me, you guys. Really! You've all been fantastic. Later, Gators! Catch you on the flip side. :)


	10. Chapter Ten

AN: And here we are, my Kats and Kittens. The very last chapter of the very first part. I know it's slightly short (it's far too short for my taste, anyway), but it just seemed like the place to end it, you know?Anyway, on to the review replies!

_**SpArKyCoLa77**_ - Glad you like the story! You'll just have to read to find out how everyone reacts ... It might not be what you're thinking ...

**_snow887_** - I know what you mean. It does seem a little rushed. I just can't seem to find a way to keep it from being ... _un-rushed_. But I'm glad you still like it. :) So, on with the rushing!

**_Elise Davidson _**- LoL! I hope Mr. Elise was able to get back to sleep, what with your "squee-ing" and all. I'm so very glad that you like it, even with the Dresden Files crossover. I've only recently just finished watching the whole first season online, and I love it love it love it! I hope you'll enjoy the second part as much as this one!

**_mcmuffins_** - Yay for Perry! You have to love him. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far! Enjoy the rest!

**_fourthfreakyferret_** - Glad you decided to review! And no begging is necessary. I'm just busting to get this last chapter out so I can start with part two! I hope I'll have a decent idea for a part three ... Hmmm ...

**_psychotic KAT_** - Yay! Glad you liked the chapter! I'm glad JD is awake too. Now, Perry can be not so grouchy, eh? Heh heh. :)

_**XAngst-PrincessX**_ - Yes! JD's alive! I couldn't believe it myself, and then I told myself ... "Oh yea, I wrote it." ... I'm such a dork. Please, do forgive me. ;) Glad you like the story so far! Hope the last chapter doesn't disappoint!

**_Melidona_** - I'm so sorry for being mean! Here's the next chapter, as promised!

**_just me_** - Wow! I love you too. :) Thanks so much for the amazing compliment! I can't tell you how much it means to me!

**_bug0112_** - Too much sugar, indeed. Haha! No worries. I know about having too much sugar. I work the overnight shifts sometimes, and sugar is the only way I make it through the night! Thanks so much for your awesome review! I'm glad you're liking the story. Enjoy the last chapter, yea?

Well, I hope that's everyone. If I missed someone, I am so terribly sorry! My email doesn't update as often as it should. So, here's a shout out to all of you who haven't yet reviewed or the ones that I've forgotten: THANK YOU! I LOVE YOU ALL! Anyway, on with the story! Enjoy the last chapter, yea?

_Chapter Ten_:

_Suddenly, JD jerked, his eyes opening wide as he took in a breath that threatened to burst his lungs._

Color returned to his face, and any signs of deterioration disappeared. Perry nearly choked grasping JD's shoulders tightly as the young man began to cough violently. His breaths came in short, sticcatoed gasps, his gaze shifting this way and that as he attempted to find his bearings.

"JD?" Perry asked softly, but the younger man continued to squirm in the confining space, grasping the sides of the casket and beginning to hyperventilate. Perry grabbed the back of JD's head, forcing the young man to look him straight in the eye.

"JD," he whispered, "it's me. It's Perry. You're okay. You're back." JD coughed a few times -- full, body-shuddering coughs -- and his gasping soon turned to trembling sobs. He grabbed at Perry's shirt, fisting the fabric as the older man hurriedly pulled him to his chest. JD cried for several minutes until all that was left was terrified whimpers, Perry rubbing his back soothingly and whispering into his ear.

"Coxy?" A timid voice said from beside them, and they pulled apart to find Dan kneeling in the dirt near the casket and staring wide-eyed at JD. He glanced over at the older doctor. "He's okay? He's back? He's really back?" Before Perry could answer, JD had pushed himself out of the casket and into his brother's lap, snaking trembling arms around the older man's waist and burying his face into the crook of his neck. Dan choked on a sob, tightening his grip on his younger brother and rocking back and forth.

"Johnny, you're okay, you're okay," he chanted. "You're here, you're all right. Everything's going to be okay now. I promise. Never again. Never, ever again." He pulled the young man from him, staring straight into his eyes and shaking him slightly by the shoulders. "Don't you dare ever do that again. Not fucking _ever_, do you hear me?" JD sniffled, closing his eyes and nodding.

"Yea," he croaked with an attempted smile. "Yea, I promise."

Suddenly, a bright light shone into the grave, and JD cried out, hiding his face against his brother's chest as his eyes burned.

"Hey!" A weathered voice called out. "What're you guys-" He stopped mid-sentence, his flashlight growing dimmer and dimmer until it, finally, shut off all together. The four men in the grave sat perfectly still for a long moment before someone appeared from behind the old grounds keeper.

"Dad?" JD asked quietly, standing with Dan's help. The man dissipated into a fine mist, reappearing in the pit beside them and smiling.

"Johnny," Sam sighed, looking at his son with admiration. "I am _so_ proud of you." He looked at Dan. "_Both_ of you."

"You're . . . not going to take JD, are you?" The eldest Dorian son asked worriedly. Sam shook his head.

"No," he replied to the relief of the other. "No, he's earned his right to be here." JD sidled up next to Perry, pressing himself against the older man and wrapping his arms around his torso. Perry put an arm around the young man's shoulders and squeezed tightly.

"I've just come to . . . fix things," Sam said with a curious smile. "It won't do for JD to all-of-a-sudden come back from the dead, will it?"

"Will we remember this?" JD asked timidly, looking up at Perry. "_Any_ of this?"

"Three of you will," Sam said, looking to Dan apologetically. "I'm sorry, son, but we have to keep this between as few people as possible."

Dan looked to JD, who gave him a reassuring smile. He wiped his dirty hands on his pants and sniffed with a nod.

"As long as JD is still around, I'm okay with that," he said. Sam nodded and gave them all one last glance.

"Ready?" He asked with raised eyebrows, receiving four nods in response. "All right then . . . See you boys on the other side."

0 o 0 o 0

JD opened his eyes, coughing and spluttering as he looked around to find himself in the bathroom of his apartment, fully-clothed in his bathtub. Water spilled over the porcelain edge, pooling on the floor. A harsh knock sounded on the door, and the muffled voice of his brother drifted through.

"JD? Johnny, you okay in there? Your bath water's soakin' up the carpet out here." JD stared at the door for a moment, his gaze slowly drifting to his left hand, where a razor blade rested, poised and ready to cut into his right wrist. He gasped, dropping the metallic object into the water and shuddering the temperature finally registered in his mind.

"JD? Little brother?" Dan's voice was a little more persistent, the knocking becoming almost desperate as the door handle jiggled against the lock. "C'mon, buddy, open the door." JD sniffed, leaning forward and turning the water off with a trembling hand. With a few more coughs, he stood carefully, placing one soaked sneaker after the other onto the tiled floor and pushing himself to his feet. Shuffling to the door, which seemed almost about to fall off its hinges with the force of the knocks, he slowly reached forward, unlocking it and cautiously turning to the knob. The door jerked open with the next knock, and JD was thrown back a step. He peered through the opening at the two worried faces on the other side. He brushed his wet bangs aside -- they were sticky from his hair gel and matted to his forehead.

"JD?" Dan asked softly, studying his shivering younger brother carefully. "You all right?"

"Yea," JD replied dazedly, glancing around the bathroom to find it flooded. "Yea, I'm fine." Dan pushed his way inside the small room, glancing around with a quirked eyebrow.

"You fall asleep in the tub or something?" His tone was laced with humor but his eyes portrayed nothing but concern. Dan looked him up and down. "You're soaked!" He grabbed the young man's sweatshirt at the bottom hem, yanking it and his shirt roughly over his head. "Yo, Coxy, hand me that shirt you brought." He held out his hand but nothing happened. Both Dorians turned to the man still standing in the door frame, his eyes trained solely on JD.

"Coxeroonie? Hello?" Dan waved a hand in front of his face. Perry stepped forward, moving up to JD until they were almost touching.

"You okay there, Newbie?" The older man asked in a husky voice, pulling the jersey down over JD's head and not breaking eye contact as the young man pushed his arms through the sleeves and pulled the large garment down -- the hem reached to near mid-thigh.

"Yea," JD offered a smirk. "I think I'm going to be all right."

Dan cleared his throat loudly, looking back and forth between the two oddly as they turned to him.

"You guys, um . . . want a minute alone or something?" He chuckled nervously.

"Yea," Perry replied. "Just give us a minute." Dan's eyebrow quirked, and he looked to his brother for confirmation.

JD smiled shyly, saying, "We'll just a minute, Dan. Promise." After a moment of awkward silence, the eldest Dorian brother sighed and shrugged.

"Don't you lovebirds take too long," he chided, waggling a finger in their faces. "The game's starting soon." He made his way noisily out of the bathroom, splashing as he went, and closed the door. JD and Perry stared at each other for what seemed like hours before the older man leaned past JD towards the sink, grabbing the only dry towel in the room. He draped it over the young man's head, roughly rubbing it against the dripping, dark locks. JD couldn't help but smile, and Perry shifted the towel to rest on the younger's shoulders, furrowing his eyebrows at him.

"What?" He demanded, wiping a few stray drops from the side of his face and beneath his chin. JD's grin only widened.

"You love me," he said matter-of-factly, giggling when the older man rolled his eyes.

"Yea, Alice," Perry admitted. "I love you. What' your point?" JD wrapped his arms around Perry's waist, pulling their bodies closer.

"You would have died for me," he said softly, brushing his lips lightly against the other man's.

"Yea," Perry rasped, closing his eyes and leaning into the touch. "You would have done the same."

"Thank you, Perry," JD whispered, moving his head to the man's shoulder and sighing. Perry shivered at the puff of air against his neck.

"For what?" He asked.

"For not giving up on me. For being there. For . . . everything."

"No thanks needed, Newbie," Perry smirked, pressing his lips to JD's temple. "Now, we're late for the game. And Dan's probably already spreading rumors about us, so we'd better get out there." There was a sudden jolt in Perry's pocket, and he jumped, sighing in frustration as he pulled out a cellphone. His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he glanced down at the number flashing across the screen, flipping it open and answering it.

"Yea?"

"Hey, Per," Harry's voice said from the other end, an awkward hesitancy lacing his words. "I just . . . wanted to make sure you and the kid made it back all right."

"Yea," Perry looked down at JD. "We're fine, Harry. Thanks."

"Right . . ." There was a short pause. "You watching the game?"

"Not yet. Workin' on it."

"Right," Harry repeated. "Well, I'll let you get to that."

"Okay," Perry said, swallowing. "Um . . . Take care, Harry."

"You too," the wizard replied. "I'll see you around."

"Bye."

Perry snapped the phone shut, staring at it a moment longer before quirking one side of his mouth and putting it away.

"Who's Harry?" JD asked curiously.

"I'll tell you later," the older man replied, leaning down and kissing JD full on the mouth -- a kiss that lasted a good minute or more. He squeezed the younger man to him, pulling away slowly and reluctantly.

"So how 'bout that game?"

"What game?" JD smirked, pulling him in for another.

AN: Questions? Comments? Vague disregard for any or all words written and established in the mind of one who has no sanity?

Well? How was it? Are you disappointed? Are you raging with anger? Are you somewhat satisfied but want to kick my ass until I post the second part? Have no fear, Kats and Kittens, the second part is on its way! Keep an eye out for it! I think I'll be calling it _My Newbie's Afterdeath_, but don't take my word on that yet. So, later gators! I will catch you in the next part! Until then, lots of love!


End file.
